


Kristina Magi and the Demon of Misfortune

by Warbabymoon



Series: Kristina Magi [1]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Demon, Demon of misfortune, Depression, Explicit Language, Fifth Year, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Mental Anguish, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, OC, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, POV Original Character, References to Depression, asshole demon, vulgarity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-03-25 03:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 58,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13825830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warbabymoon/pseuds/Warbabymoon
Summary: Kristina Magi's cousin is finally going on trial for using the unforgivable curses on her. However, Kristina's developing anxiety and depression. This has left her in a weakened mental state and left her vulnerable to a demon wanting to take over her for her power. Now, the demon is causing problems for Kristina and causing fears of her by her peers. The Ministry of Magic has interest in her, and Kristina wants nothing to do with it. She just wants to finish out her years at Hogwarts and go open a potion shop somewhere nice, maybe with an astrology study room. However, the Ministry of Magic does not see that future for her... Will she be able to fight her way out of whatever the Ministry wants to do with her or will she be forced to stop attending Hogwarts? And with the help of a mysterious Seraphim, will they be able to defeat the demon altogether?





	1. One Hell of a Student

_"Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and love lies. Night will fall and the dark will rise when a good man goes to war. Demons run but count the cost; the battle's won but the child's lost." - River Song, Doctor Who._

* * *

 

 **Chapter One**  
_One Hell of a Student_

Her favorite class was Potions. Perhaps it was just bias, as the professor was her uncle, but she enjoyed the calmness that rose from stirring the cauldron. Potion-making was a precise science that very few could appreciate, and Kristina Magi was one of the few who could appreciate it. That was because her uncle Severus taught her to appreciate the subtle science. Not once has there ever been any silly wand-waving, just the soothing motion of stirring the cauldron.

Kristina Astrid-Leigh Magi was about average height for a girl—standing at about five-foot-two. Her eyes were crystal blue gems and her hair was the color of walnuts, while her skin was an ashen shade. Appearance-wise, the most she ever did was comb her hair. Her outfit was simple and plain: a deep midnight blue sweater overtop a white button-up shirt, black slacks and shoes, and a blue and black robe for House Ravenclaw.

No one was surprised when Professor Snape approached Kristina's table and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as she stirred her cauldron. Standing on the other side of Kristina was her best friend, Erin Hartnell. A praise for the pair of them was uttered by Professor Snape, and the girls responded with a confident, "thank you". Professor Snape offered a smile to Kristina and walked past to examine the next group's less-than-spectacular potion. At times like this, Snape wished he was not a teacher. The pure idiocy! How could they screw up something so bloody simple?

"You call this a love potion?" Professor Snape asked, horrified. "You should have your potion smelling of chamomile and should be a light pink! Not this...disgusting...whatever." He glanced behind him at his niece and hoped he was not imagining this heinous attempt at potion-making. "Kristina, my dear, I am not hallucinating the color being anything but pink, correct?"

"Yes sir," Kristina nodded. "In fact, it's steel grey."

"Steel grey!" Professor Snape cried. "How did you manage this...this...atrocity?! Out of such a simple recipe, nonetheless!"

Kristina slapped a hand over her mouth as a squeaky giggle crept up her throat. Erin giggled without the restraint Kristina gave herself. Pointing at the girls' cauldron, Professor Snape urged the boys to examine their cauldron and learn how the potion should look and smell. Meanwhile, he whipped out his wand and pointed it at their cauldron. He simply could not bear to look at the disgrace any longer! After muttering, _Evanesco_ , the fluid disappeared out of the cauldron and Professor Snape then demanded the students redo their potion.

"But sir! There's only fifteen minutes of class left!" one boy, a Hufflepuff named Caprio Douglass, protested.

Kristina and Erin now began bottling up their potion and cleaning up their station. Amused, Snape crossed his arms and smirked.

"Then I propose you two get going so you are not late for your next class, correct?" he suggested as he returned to the front of the room. "It is such a shame that only two of you can appreciate the subtle science that is potion-making. Then again, I taught one of you from an early age. I'm quite disappointed to say the very least. Under his breath, he muttered, "Bloody abyss." After thinking hard about the potions that were made that day, he continued, "Most of you did mediocre at best with your potions. The rest of you, well, you would have most certainly failed your O.W.L.s in the potions department. I expect twelve inches of parchment describing the process of making this particular love potion recipe. Do. Not. Give. Me. Two. Sentences. Twelve inches, and as many details as you can conjure up. Due Monday upon your entrance."

A couple of Gryffindors groaned, and the Ravenclaws all glared hard at them. If looks could kill, the Gryffindors would be beyond dead at this point.

"One more groan and will add another twelve inches!" Snape threatened.

"Promise, Professor?" Kristina grinned.

"I love you, Kristina, however..." Snape shook his head. "You most certainly take after your father. He'd be more than proud of you with that sense of humor." Pausing, he added, "Don't tempt me to fulfill the threat, my child. Now, with what little time is left, I want you all to begin your assignment."

Kristina reached down into her bag and retrieved a roll of parchment.

"Kristina, don't over do it on the detail," Professor Snape told her. "No silly stories either, child."

"Aw, but Uncle Severus..." Kristina giggled.

"No. Silly. Stories. I'm not grading a novel, I'm grading an essay," he told her. "As much as I absolutely adore your stories...this is not the time to show me your novel-writing skills."

Kristina pouted and nodded, "Yes sir."

"Thank you," Professor Snape swiftly spun on his heels and returned to his desk. His long, black cloak billowed around him as he stalked back to his desk. Kristina offered him a goofy smile when he turned back around and he responded with a wave of dismissal at her silliness. "You are a silly girl, Kristina. I don't know what to do with you sometimes."

"Love me?" Kristina grinned.

"I already love you, my child," he responded quickly. "Alright, enough silliness out of you!"

Kristina grinned and looked at Erin, who was smiling in amusement and trying to not giggle.

"What?" Kristina asked with a wry chuckle.

Erin relented and giggled at them, "Nothing. Just, you two are silly."

"You know you love it," Kristina told her.

"I do," Erin agreed. "You and Professor Snape are adorable."

"I. AM. NOT. ADORABLE!" Snape exclaimed. "How _dare_ you!"

"Actually, you kinda are," Erin grinned. "And, quite easily."

"Dear me," Professor Snape shook his head, groaned in annoyance, and sighed in exasperation. "Why do I even bother with you two sometimes?"

After a couple more giggles from the girls, they went back to working on their assignment. A queer feeling inside of Kristina began building up, however, she was not quite sure what it was. Shaking off the unfamiliar feeling, Kristina continued working. Certainly, it was something small and it would eventually pass When it was finally time to go, Kristina swiftly cleared her things and shoved them into her backpack. Before she left, she came up to Snape and gave him a hug. He hugged her back and allowed her to run off to lunch with Erin.

Not surprisingly, when they got there, the Great Hall was loud. It almost always was. What, with the cacophony of random conversations, laughter, the clinking of plates and forks, the occasional 'thump' of a backpack or a couple of books, or the shouting across the tables at one another because they want to talk but are separated by house. Kristina and Erin chose a quiet corner of the Ravenclaw table and sat down. As soon as they sat down, they glanced at the empty plate in front of them and watched as food appeared.

Quickly, the girls dug right on in. They were desperate for food, which was due to the fact that they got up late and missed breakfast. What made things worse was that no one bothered to check and make sure that they were already awake. It was surprising that no one thought to check on them, especially after the long night the previous night of trying to get their radio to actually work so they could listen to their favorite radio comedy shows.

Kristina found herself enjoying a plate of fish 'n chips, a favorite treat of hers. Three evenly breaded pieces of cod sat upon a throne of crispy french fries—which was actually the best part of the whole dish—and on the side was a dish of ketchup that refilled whenever a wand was pointed at it. A big grin appeared on Kristina's face as she chowed down on the cod. Perfectly crisp, and nice and juicy on the inside. She could tell lemon had been squeezed on it already, which was fine because that just added to the flavor of the white fish. Next thing to be eaten were the fries, which had a perfect crunch.

Erin's plate had the same thing. The only difference between her and Kristina was that Erin wasn't half as fond of the fish 'n chips as Kristina was. But then again, Kris just _loved_ the dish. Erin simply liked it.

As they ate their lunch, they also made sure to review Professor Snape's notes on potions. Sure, the O.W.L.s were months away, however, they wanted to make sure they were not cramming last-minute.

"So, Kristina..." Erin started. "You're going to take N.E.W.T. Potions next year if you pass the O.W.L.s?"

"Yeah," Kristina nodded. "Will you join me?"

"I probably might as well," Erin nodded. "No harm in taking N.E.W.T. Potions too. We do make a pretty good duo."

"Yeah, we do," Kristina nodded in agreement. "We're just awesome like that."

"But don't you ever think Professor Snape is a little harsh?" Erin wondered.

Kristina shrugged, "At this point I'm figuring that's just how he is. He's not harsh with me so I don't really notice when he's harsh with everyone else. Though I'm not sure why he's like that. I'd never seen him so harsh to other people until first year."

"Did something serious happen in his personal life?" Erin wondered.

"He didn't have much of a life outside of the house," Kristina shrugged. "Although...that summer...he came home in tears. I don't know why. I never asked him because I know it's none of my business. Maybe something did happen. But, you know, I'm not gonna ask him. Not my business."

"Understandable," Erin agreed.

When they finished eating their lunch, they gathered their things and left to go to their next class, which was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Delmarva. As they walked, they were greeted by some of their own teachers who were heading off to eat lunch. Professor McGonagall even approached them, praising them for their performance in class that day and for their beautifully-written assignments. After saying 'thank you', they split ways and continued on until they saw Professor Meriwether Moses talking to an unfamiliar person. Neither girl dared to make their presence known to their Herbology teacher or the stranger.

Meriwether Moses was a tall, dorky-looking man. He stood at roughly five-foot-eleven, with short-cropped jet-black hair and hazel brown eyes. His skin was a pale olive color, from Lebanese ancestry. On his right cheek was a long scar going from his jaw to just under his eye. He wore a long, maroon trench coat and a golden Polo shirt. He was a favorite teacher amongst the students.

Kristina and Erin were startled when they saw him scowl and cross his arms in frustration. He did not seem pleased with whomever he was talking to. Some witch who charmed her pen and paper to float and write on their own, and that was all they could gather. The pen scribbled furiously across the page as Professor Moses and the witch spoke to one another.

That's when it clicked with Erin.

"You know, she must be a reporter. And I bet you I know who it is," Erin looked at Kristina.

"Hm?" Kristina glanced back.

"That's Rita Skeeter, from the _Daily Prophet,_ " Erin responded. "Man, what on earth is she doing talking to Professor Moses?"

"Dunno," Kristina and Erin continued to stay paused so they could listen to the conversation. Erin couldn't fully make out what was being said, but fortunately for her Kristina could.

"...Kristina's the best student I have," Professor Moses told the reporter, Rita Skeeter. "She's always studious, she never cheats, keeps good grades, on time to her classes, and she's quiet. Heck, even Professor Snape is fond of her! But...then again, that's because he knows her father, and they get along rather well. But...I don't know why you would suspect there was anything bad about Kristina because she's a favorite amongst the teachers and some of the students. Oh, she's such a silly girl too. She loves making jokes and making people laugh and smile. She's made me smile many times! I can guarantee you, she's made Minerva and Severus smile on numerous occasions."

"Well, there are reports from her cousin that she's cheated before and that she gets good grades somehow," Skeeter told him.

"The one time wasn't even her fault, her cousin was forcing her to do her homework and then try and turn it in as hers when it was Kristina's work," Professor Moses's irritation was beginning to show. "Kristina never has cheated. _Never_. See, this is why I bloody despise journalism. Journalists take stories and twist them in ways that they should never be." He shook his head, "All in all, Kristina is a good student and she doesn't deserve such a crappy cousin. It ticks me off that her cousin, who was supposed to be a good role model for her, turned out to be a really awful person and was a terrible role model by using her kindness and using her intelligence. I mean, only an unstable narcissist would do that."

She was writing all of this down as Professor Moses turned away and said, "I really need to get back to class so if you'd please excuse me."

Skeeter nodded, "Thank you very much, Mister Moses."

Professor Moses waved her off and walked off. He suddenly saw Kristina and Erin and he walked up to them. They tried to pretend that they had not been listening. When he finally came up to them, he raised an eyebrow at them but smiled.

"Hey, Kris! Erin!" he greeted them. "Were you guys listening?"

"What? Us? Listening in on you talking to some strange reporter?" Erin feigned surprise.

"What was the conversation about?" Kristina asked straight up, earning her a sideways glance from her best friend.

"She was asking about you for a paper she's writing on your cousin's trial," Professor Moses answered. "She wanted to know more about you. It honestly sounded like she wanted to twist my words against me and you. I hope I said the right things..."

Kristina smiled, "I think you said the right things."

"Really? You think so?" Professor Moses asked, blushing and smiling wryly. "Thank you, Kristina. I'm glad you think so. I suppose I'm just worried about this whole trial. Despite what it seems on the surface, justice isn't always properly served in the Ministry. You'd think it wouldn't be like that but that's how it is."

"Yeah," Erin nodded her head in agreement. "That's a valid point. Should we worry about Desari not being served the justice she deserves, Professor?"

Professor Moses gave a thoughtful expression towards the ceiling, then looked back and shook his head, "No. You two have enough to worry about with the O.W.L.s, y'know?"

"True..." Erin agreed.

"Not sure that'll stop me," Kris shrugged.

Professor Moses gave a wry chuckle, "Of course not. Well, I should be off back to my class, for sure. And you two have a class to run off to, right?"

"Yeah," Kristina and Erin both nodded.

"I'll see you two in Herbology tomorrow, then," he smiled.

"Of course," both girls nodded.

With a wave of his hand, Professor Moses turned and walked off towards the greenhouse. Kristina and Erin both exchanged glances as they began towards Dark Arts again. Precariously, Kristina held one book in her arm as she anxiously ran her free hand through her hair. With a sigh, she glanced back at Erin and they shook their heads.

"Why would the reporter be asking Professor Moses about me for a report on my cousin's trial?" Kristina wondered.

"I hope there hasn't been a break in the case that we haven't been told about yet," Erin frowned at the thought.

"I'd say I hope that she was asking for curiosity's sake, but something tells me that's not true," Kristina sighed heavily.

"I think she's trying to dig up dirt on you," Erin told her. "I mean, that's what she does...naturally."

"Well, she certainly won't get dirt on me from any of our teachers," Kristina pointed out.

"I think later we should warn Professor Snape about this," Erin told her.

"You think so?" Kris asked.

"Yeah," Erin nodded. "Because she may try to talk to him next. Let's not have him surprised, right?"

"Something tells me she's already tried talking to him," Kristina scowled. "I think it'll be fine. He'd tell us to watch what we say if she approaches us if that helps any. He already knows to avoid reporters like they're venomous spiders."

"You sure?" Erin asked.

"Yeah," Kristina smiled. "I've known Professor Snape basically my entire life. I think I would have a general idea of how he'd deal with this situation."

"Alright, if you're sure," Erin told her. "Oh, and let me just say this. Your circumstances don't determine who you are as a person, only your words and actions towards people do. Just remember that if Rita Skeeter does something to try and tarnish you. What Desari did to you does not define you as a person. Alright?"

Kristina gave a wry smile, "Thanks, Erin. I appreciate that."

Erin grinned, "No problem!"


	2. Anxiety

**Chapter Two**  
_Anxiety_

The queer feeling in the pit of Kristina's stomach had gotten much worse over the course of the next hour. It was not expected in the slightest, which crushed her mood more than she wished. What started as just a stomach ache turned to heart palpitations, a general feeling of dread that could not be explained in the slightest, and erratic breathing when she could feel the nausea getting worse. Her leg began bouncing up and down, and continued even after she accidentally banged it right on the bottom of the desk.

"Oh FUCK!" Kristina cussed as her leg bounced too high and hit the desk.

"Kris?" Erin looked at her funny. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." Kristina muttered in full embarrassment when she realized everyone was looking at her.

Suddenly, the unfamiliar feeling got worse — as a flash of warmth fell over her — and Kristina knew she needed to leave. She anxiously raised her hand for Professor Emily Doon and she looked at her.

"Miss Magi," she nodded.

"P-Professor," Kristina started. "May I please be excused to the nurse? I don't feel quite well..."

"Of course you may, my dear," Professor Doon nodded.

"May I be excused to escort her to the nurse?" Erin asked. "I worry she may not make it there on her own."

"No, of course you may," Professor Doon agreed. "Please feel better, Miss Magi. You most definitely look ill. I don't need you sick all over my desks!"

Kristina forced a wry smile on her face as she stood up and picked up her backpack.

"Thank you, Professor..." she choked out, reaching a shaky hand for her textbook. Erin swatted her hand away and grabbed the book herself and grabbed Kristina's hand to lead her out of the classroom. As fast as they possibly could, Kristina and Erin made their way to the nurse's office.

"What did you do in the middle of class to make you drop the 'f-bomb'?" Erin wondered as they scrambled.

"My legs were bouncing up and down," Kristina answering. "I accidentally bounced my knee up too high and slammed it into the table."

"Restless leg syndrome? But I've never seen _that_ in you before," Erin commented.

"Dunno, just started out of the blue," Kristina admitted.

"Restless, shaking, your breathing sounds weird, your heart is pounding—I can feel it in your wrist—and...are you nauseous? You look a bit like you're about to vomit," Erin looked up. "Oh I know these symptoms! I bet it's anxiety!"

"Anxiety?" Kristina repeated.

"It's a mental health disorder," Erin told her. "What? Did you not read the Gregor the Overlander books?"

Kristina shook her head, "No...I was too busy reading books like _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ and _Fahrenheit 451_."

"Well, in any case, anxiety disorder is basically excessive worry, anxiety, or fear that is enough to disrupt your day-to-day life," Erin explained to her.

"I did not know that was a thing..." Kristina muttered, gripping at her stomach. "I feel really sick, can we go to the restroom? It's closer."

"You don't think you'll make it?" Erin asked.

"Not particularly," Kristina muttered.

"Right, restroom..." Erin led her to the bathroom, keeping a tight grip on her hand to make sure she knew if Kris was about to collapse. "Hang in there, Kris."

"Yeah," Kristina moaned. "Frick me..."

When they got to the girl's restroom, Kristina let go of Erin's hand and dashed inside as fast as she could when Professor Snape had approached them. Both Snape and Erin were startled by Kristina running into the bathroom. Erin had intended to follow her in but now Professor Snape was glancing at her in curiosity. Anxious, she glanced into the bathroom but did not go in. Then, she glanced back at her potions master.

"Is something the matter with my dearest Kristina?" Professor Snape wondered.

"Uhm, yeah, I suspect she has anxiety," Erin admitted. Whoops. Hopefully Kristina did not need her hair held back.

"Anxiety?" Professor Snape looked in the restroom when he heard retching. "Dear me...she looked perfectly fine before the two of you left class."

"It kinda snuck up on her," Erin admitted. "Then again, she'd been looking pretty bad since lunch but I didn't think it was anything serious."

Professor Snape sighed heavily, "So were you planning on taking her to the nurse?"

"Yeah," Erin nodded. "That's what we'd originally told Professor Doon but we needed to take a detour to the restroom..."

After hearing a loud 'thump', Snape leaned his ear into the restroom curiously.

"Kristina, my dear, are you okay?" he asked, genuinely worried.

"Fine, fine," Kristina responded. "I think...ow...sonuva..."

Snape shook his head and sighed.

"Her mother will be _oh so_ pleased to hear of this," he grumbled.

"Hm?" Erin looked up at him.

"Her mother also suffers from anxiety," Professor Snape responded. "Chances are, Kristina inherited it from her mother...and just as likely, this trial has triggered the anxiety."

"I would think so," Erin agreed.

Snape drew his lips back in a frown as he thought, "Hm. Calming draught. I think _that_ will do her well. Poor thing."

"Calming draught? Oh yeah!" Erin nodded. "That would be helpful."

"Kristina, when you are done in there, I'd like to take you back to my classroom," Professor Snape said into the bathroom.

"Okay..." Kristina grumbled.

Soon, they heard shuffling and then the toilet flushing. After the sound of running water ended, Kristina finally came out looking worse than she did before. Even the shaking and sweating had escalated. However, it did seem as though the nausea went away for a little bit. Kristina's chestnut bangs were damp with sweat. From the expression on her face, she looked like she wanted to be put out of her misery. Professor Snape gently placed an arm around her and brought her close to him.

"It's okay, my child," he told her, trying to help soothe her nerves. "Sh, sh...it's okay. We're going to my classroom and I'm going to give you a Calming Draught, alright?"

"Calming Draught?" Kristina asked in a shaky voice. Kristina went through the list of ingredients in her head and then remembered what it was. "Oh I know..."

"Mhm," Professor Snape nodded. "You know exactly what it is. I showed your class, you know. Miss Hartnell, you may join us if you wish."

"Sure," Erin nodded. "I'll stay so I can take her back to our room safely."

"Mm," Professor Snape agreed and led them back to his classroom. Nobody was there, as his class had dismissed ten minutes prior. This was his lunch hour, not that he minded helping his dearest niece. In fact, Professor Snape was not feeling up to eating lunch today.

Carefully, he lead a shaky Kristina to his classroom. Once there, he led her to his seat and he sat her down. Erin caught up and stood next to her, staying quiet. Shakily, Kristina ran her fingers through her hair several times, another sign that she was anxious. Professor Snape placed his hands on his hips and shook his head slowly. He knew, for a fact, that her mother will be most certainly displeased at this novel notion. After a couple of moments of thought, he dropped his hands to his sides and nodded towards the bookcase of potions.

"I shall find the potion," Professor Snape assured her. "Try not to be sick."

"Yes, Uncle Severus," Kristina forced. "Ugh..."

Swiftly, he spun around on his heels and stalked towards his bookcase. Potions were lined up in the bookcase, and after carefully examining each label to find the one that said 'Calming Draught'. Once he found the small vial of potion, he selected it and popped the cork on it. Without another thought, he turned back around and brought it over to Kristina.

"My dear," he offered it to her. "Drink the whole vial if you would. It shall help soothe your nerves within minutes."

Kristina anxiously took the vial, brought it to her lips, and gulped down the potion. Professor Snape waited for Kristina to finish before gingerly taking it away from her. He sighed as he dropped the vial on the counter.

"I'd recommend you lay down in your dorm," he cautioned. "Rest should help alleviate _some_ of your tension that may linger after the potion helps you."

"Is that really okay?" Kristina asked.

Professor Snape nodded.

"I don't see why not," he told her and helped her stand up. "Off with you."

"Thank you, Uncle Severus," she thanked him.

"You are most welcome," he told her. "You will do as your...favorite...uncle asks of you, correct?"

"Y-Yes," Kristina finally forced a smile upon her face.

"Excellent, I suppose you two shall be on your way, then," he told them.

"You're proper awesome, Professor," Erin told him as she took Kris out.

"Of course I am," Professor Snape responded. "Now off!"

Kristina and Erin left and the girls looked at each other as they walked. Crossing her arms, Kristina turned towards the tower.

"I think I can make it back to Ravenclaw on my own," she said. "I don't want you missing more of class."

"You sure?" Erin asked. "I'm perfectly fine with escorting you back to our room."

"No, no..." Kristina shook her head. "It's fine, Erin." She smiled wearily, "I appreciate your concern though."

Erin sighed, "I guess you're right."

"Thank you for coming with me though," Kristina told her. "I just feel really bad dragging you behind with me."

"You're welcome," Erin smiled. "I'll come bring you food later, alright?"

"Thank you," Kristina nodded and the girls both hugged.

After the hug, the girls split up in separate directions. Kristina slowly made her way up the stairs, but was startled by the unfamiliar woman from earlier that day. Jumping back a bit, she clutched her shirt over her chest and sighed at herself. The woman turned around and smiled.

"Ah, Kristina Magi!" she greeted.

"Er..." Kristina tried to remember the woman's name. Erin told her, but Kristina was awful with names. "You are?"

"Rita Skeeter from the _Daily Prophet_ ," she responded. "I'm working on an article about your cousin's trial."

"Cool," Kristina breathed. No, that was definitely NOT cool! She definitely wanted to get away, but she did not want to be rude to her.

"So tell me," Rita started. "How did this all begin? We need _your_ point of view."

"Uhm, well..." Kristina scowled. "Desari wanted to finish her wizarding years out at Hogwarts rather than Ilvermorny, my dad decided to try and take her in instead of leaving her homeless with her mother...It was all fine and dandy but then she started being awful to me. She even locked me out of my own room. This was before the year had started too..." Kristina tried to skim through the memories rather quickly. "Anyway, I don't see how anything I say would be imperative for your article. Just because we had a shit relationship doesn't mean I had anything to do with it."

"You sure?" Skeeter asked. "At what point do you think you may have to say that you were responsible for your cousin's actions?"

Kristina stared at the woman, unsure if she should go off on her or not. She glared at her and Rita gasped, glancing over Kris's shoulder. Kristina crossed her arms and tapped her foot in irritation.

"Miss Magi..." she started. "B-Behind you."

Kristina was hit with a pang of panic. Even though the potion was working properly, something was wrong. Still, she did not so much as peek over her shoulder. She thought that Skeeter was trying to get at her.

"I'm going back to my Common Room," Kristina told her. "If you would please excuse me."

"N-No, I'm serious," Skeeter told her. "There's this darkness behind you. A-And! Oh! Your eyes! Are they...are they..."

"It's probably my pet demon," Kristina grumbled seriocomically. "In all seriousness, it's probably just my shadow, ma'am. Or Peeves. Peeves can do weird things, let's be honest here. Don't get me started on last year, though. Everything's fine Please, I must go. I'm not feeling very well."

"I'm not quite sure that's just Peeves..." Skeeter muttered. "Fine, I guess. I do hope you'll read my article when it comes out?"

"Perhaps," Kristina shrugged and headed back up the stairs. Sighing, she wondered what Skeeter was going on about. Some darkness behind her? "Bloody git. It was just Peeves. Right?" She looked around. Now that she thought about it, she could not hear Peeves cackling or anything. She scowled.

"What the hell..." she muttered. "Peeves?"

He was nowhere to be found. That probably meant he was up to something.

"Well shit..."

Sighing, she headed up to the Ravenclaw door and was greeted with a riddle.

"I have five and take away two, yet I am left with four. How is that possible?"

"Four...four..." Kristina thought about it for a couple of minutes. She pictured the word 'five' and then saw it. "OH! If you take away the 'f' and the 'e' you are left with 'iv' which is the Roman numeral for four! That makes sense."

The door swung open and Kristina walked inside. The anxious feeling from Skeeter had dissipated. It must've just been the flight-or-fight response. What she felt probably was anger. Annoyed, she slammed the door and walked through the common room. There were not many people, since it was the middle of the day during the school week.

"Maybe if I just go nap, I'll be perfectly fine," Kristina thought out loud to herself. "Sleep...I sure hope I can sleep..."

She crossed over towards the dorms and headed into her and Erin's dorm. It was the last room in the dorm, and somehow they were able to have it to themselves. It was relatively small, but it was conducive to their needs. Kristina did not even bother dressing down, she only kicked off her shoes, pulled off her robes, and jumped into bed. Curling up with her blankets, she slipped off to sleep.

x x x

Kristina woke up in a sweat an hour later. The dream she had scared her. Perhaps it was her first true nightmare. And all she did was nap, geez. Sitting up, she noticed her undershirt was soaked all the way through with sweat. So much, in fact, her sweater was damp too. Screwing up her face in disgust, she quickly took off her sweater, shirt, and even her bra and threw them on the floor. She cast a summoning charm for a clean bra and shirt from her dresser. Once she had her new clothes on, she grabbed her dream journal for Divination and began writing down the dream.

October 22, 1984

_There was a mirror, and I looked into it. Instead of seeing myself, I saw a girl who looks like me except her hair was black and her eyes were red. Like, blood red. She smiled at me, but it wasn't assuring in the slightest. In fact, she instilled fear within me. That's when she disappeared and turned into like this darkness. I couldn't even begin to explain comprehensively what the darkness was._

After she finished writing, she blew on the ink for it to dry and then she set the notebook back down on her nightstand and sighed. She smelled awful now! Like wet dog. Gross! With a shake to bring herself back into the moment, she stood up and summoned clean pants and clean underwear so she could shower. Before she left, she took one last glance at her damp clothing.

"Gross," Kristina commented as her stomach churned. With a wave of her wand, she made the sweat disappear and once again, they were dry. However, she knew she still had to put them in the dirty clothes. Annoyed, she kicked the clothing closer to her bed and made a mental note to make sure she put them in her basket later.

When she left her room, she could hear more voices coming from the common room. At this point, she figured, it had to be about 4:30 in the afternoon. Enough time to take a shower before Erin came back with her supper. Sighing, she rushed off to the common showers and placed her things on a nearby bench. After that, she undressed and then headed to a shower stall. After closing the deep blue with bronze trim curtains, she began her hot shower. Quickly, she scrubbed her hair and her whole body, trying to get rid of the awful wet dog smell. After about ten minutes of scrubbing (and shaving), she turned the shower off, wrung out her short hair, and reached for a blue towel.

"Ohhh these towels are so fluffy," Kristina whispered as she dried herself off. "Perfect."

After drying herself off, she dressed quickly and pointed her wand at her hair to finish drying herself. Touching her hair to verify it was no longer even remotely damp, she nodded praise at herself and scooped up her dirty clothes and left. When she returned to her and Erin's room, she threw all of her dirty laundry into her basket and kicked it under her bed. Then, she sat back down in bed and looked at the dream she wrote down in her journal, attempting to see if she could look at it with a clearer head.

When she opened it back up to the page, she looked at the words she wrote down and found herself simply staring, not even thinking about the words. Frowning, she forced herself to concentrate.

"Darkness, and an unsmiling girl..." she muttered after a few moments of finally processing the information. "There is something strange about that..."

Then, she heard a voice. No clue who it was, but she glanced around anxiously.

"Who's there?" she asked the quiet air.

_It WAS your fault._

"What was my fault?" Kristina asked. "I don't understand. Who are you? Where are you?"

 _It was YOUR fault_ , the voice repeated.

"What was my fault?" Now, Kristina was irritated. "Reveal yourself! Aparecium!" Nothing happened. The voice was still invisible. So obviously there was not a concealing charm going on here and that worried Kristina even more.

_You shouldn't be alive._

"Ugh!" Kristina groaned in frustration. Not a concealing charm, so was it invisibility? "Are you invisible?"

The voice stopped as soon as she realized Erin was in the room. The color, what little there actually was, drained from Kristina's face when she saw Erin standing there with a bowl of soup in her hands. Worry suddenly crossed her face, and she was furrowing her dark eyebrows together to express it even more.

"Kristina?" she asked. "Uhm...are you okay?"

"Uhm..." Kristina swallowed. "I'm not even really sure."

"Is there someone in our room?" Erin asked.

Kristina looked around and sighed, "Ah, no...I suppose not..."

Kristina rubbed at her eyes and sighed.

"Fricking shit," she cursed in frustration. "I might sound crazy, Erin, but I think I heard a voice...it was telling me 'it was your fault' and 'you shouldn't be alive' to me. I don't even know what they were talking about. _What_ was my fault? And why shouldn't I be alive? Like..."

"Are you..." Erin started cautiously. "Are you feeling suicidal?"

"Not particularly..." Kristina told her. "Erin...is there something wrong with me?"

"I'm beginning to think this is more than anxiety," Erin told her straight up. "Look, we'll have Professor Snape take you to St. Mungo's, they may have an answer for this."

"Why not Madam Pomfrey?" Kristina asked.

"Oh shoot, I jumped straight to the wrong thing," Erin sighed. "Sorry. Madam Pomfrey. Silly me. Professor Snape wouldn't have to take you there. Unless you want him to, of course." She grinned.

"Dunno, I could certainly do with having Uncle Severus right about now..." Kristina muttered. "Feel pretty freaked out, let's be honest here."

"So..." Erin started. "What, today's...Tuesday?"

"Yeah," Kris nodded.

"Hm, waiting until Saturday may not be a good idea..." Erin sighed. "We'll go to Madam Pomfrey first thing in the morning, then. Alright?"

"Yeah..." Kristina agreed. "We can do that."

"Madam Pomfrey will be able to tell us what is going on," Erin told her. "Because this is more than anxiety. "

"Yeah," Kristina nodded. "Must be."

"Here's your food, by the way," Erin handed the bowl over. "Eat up, you need to eat."

"Yeah," Kristina nodded in agreement and took the bowl from her. "Thank you, Erin."

"Of course," Erin smiled timidly.

Kristina turned around, sat down on her bed and awkwardly began eating her supper. After she finished, Erin made the bowls disappear and reappear back in the Great Hall. Then, the two of them began on their homework for their classes, including double Potions. Although Professor Snape had teased her earlier in the day about writing a story, she honestly had no desire to make it a story either which way. The idea did not even appeal to her. After she finished writing the essay, and once Erin was done, they decided to turn in early and attempt to sleep.


	3. The Daily Prophet

**Chapter 3**  
_The Daily Prophet_

It might have been difficult to get Kristina up and out of bed. Sleep felt so good, and she did not want to face the voices she heard the previous evening. Honestly, sleep was better than that. However, after some convincing from Erin, Kristina was able to finally force herself out of bed and dress appropriately. Though, she did it grudgingly with no real desire to really get out of her room.

"It's so comfy and warm in my bed," Kristina groaned, pulling the covers over her shoulder and flipping over onto her other side, away from Erin. "I don't want to get up."

"Come on, we need to make sure there isn't a jinx or a hex on you," Erin told her. "I don't want you suffering."

Kristina bit her lip. Well...Erin made a valid point. If it were a jinx or a hex, Kristina would most likely continue to suffer. Nobody wanted that. With a heavy sigh, Kristina sat up in her bed and threw her covers to the side.

"Alright, I suppose...if you insist," Kristina grumbled and stood up. Grudgingly, she put on her Ravenclaw robe and slid her wand, a pear wood wand with a unicorn hair core that was 10" and slightly springy flexibility. It slid nicely into her pocket and then she picked up her backpack. Together, the two girls left the room and headed down to the hospital wing.

When they got there, there was almost dead silence. Kristina's heart raced in her chest, making her stomach churn. The anxiety was creeping back up, much to her chagrin. Sighing, she forced herself to try and ignore the feeling. Honestly, she had no desire to deal with this today. Going back to bed sounded pretty good. Putting her hands on her hips, Erin decided to make their prescence known.

"Madam Pomfrey? Are you in here?" she called.

That was when they heard rustling. When the girls looked in the direction it came from and saw Madam Pomfrey approaching them. Etched on her face was an expression of surprise. She was not expecting Kristina and Erin there, not in the slightest. After the initial shock, she smiled and greeted them.

"You two are here surprisingly early," she told them. "What's the matter?"

"You see, Kristina is...not doing rather well," Erin answered for her friend.

Kristina looked at her friend gratefully. She felt too anxious to speak. In fact, she was afraid her voice would shake as she spoke.

"Started after lunch yesterday," Erin continued. "Kristina developed the symptoms of an anxiety attack. We would have come to see you, but we detoured to the restroom and Professor Snape found us and took him to his classroom to give Kris a Calming Draught. I went back to class, she went back to our dorm..."

"I napped," Kristina forced herself to add. "Then took a shower. Then, after I dressed...I started hearing a voice. It was telling me something was my fault and that I don't deserve to live...I don't even know what the voice was talking about, really. But..."

"Anxiety and depression?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I think so," Erin nodded. "But I feel like it is more than just anxiety and depression. Just...Like is there a way you could see that if maybe someone put a jinx, curse, or hex on her or something?"

"A jinx or hex?" Madam Pomfrey obviously looked surprised.

Kristina crossed her arms and looked down, "Obviously this sounds too silly, Erin. I think we should just go to breakfast so we don't miss it again today."

"No, no," Madam Pomfrey responded quickly. "I think it's plausible, just I don't understand why someone would ever even consider jinxing you like that."

Kristina and Erin exchanged glances. Madam Pomfrey was right, why would someone jinx Kristina? After thinking, the girls looked back at Madam Pomfrey and shrugged.

"How about this, if it happens again you two come back down here immediately," Madam Pomfrey finally suggested. "More information could be useful."

"Yeah," Erin agreed. "I think we could totally do that. What do you think, Kris?"

Kristina nodded, "Yeah. I suppose that would be a viable option."

"You're positive?" Erin asked. "I must make sure, anyway."

"Yeah," Kristina nodded hesitantly.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at the girls, "Well, come back if anything happens, alright?"

"Yeah," Erin nodded in acknowledgement.

Without expecting a response, Erin and Kristina both turned around and began walking out together. Silence followed them awkwardly to the Great Hall as they thought about the experience from the previous evening. Maybe it was just Kristina's imagination, but Kristina could not shake the feeling that it was not not just her imagination. _Something_ had to be going on, and she knew that to formally diagnose something, anything for that matter, you need a lot more evidence than what she and Erin could provide at that moment in time.

When they arrived in the Great Hall, something immediately felt wrong. Much to their surprise, there was not quite the usual cacophony: rather, there was just low murmurs of confusion, whispers of concern, and occasional gasps from kids who just learned why everyone was acting this way. Kristina and Erin exchanged concerned expressions.

"Uhm I sure hope we haven't missed anything," Erin commented.

"I hope so too..." Kristina concurred.

They were startled by the voice of Professor Moses. He was running towards them and concern was etched on his face.

"Kristina, Erin, you two need to come with me," he panted when he finally got to them.

"Wh-What?" Erin asked, taken aback.

"Why? What's going on?" Kristina demanded.

"Just, come on," Professor Moses told them. "It's better if us adults inform you of this together."

"Uhm...uh oh..." Kristina and Erin both exchanged worried expressions.

They followed Professor Moses back to the teacher's table and each of Kristina's teachers had a grim expression written upon their faces. Including Professor Snape, who was glaring hard at the newspaper he was holding in his hands. After a few seconds, he angrily threw the paper down and cursed at it.

"Bumbling fools!" Professor Snape hissed audibly. "How _dare_ they!"

"Now, now, Severus," came Dumbledore's calm voice.

"I am not going to remain calm, Albus," Snape snapped. "You not see this bollocks?"

"I do indeed see it, Severus," Dumbledore agreed. "However, Kristina would want you to remain calm in this situation. Think she needs you more now than ever."

"I've brought them," Professor Moses told them as they approached.

"What's going on?" Kristina demanded impatiently.

"You need to see it," Professor Moses took the paper Professor Snape threw down and gave it to the girls. "Picture and article on this page."

"Huh?" Kristina and Erin both looked at each other. Kristina gingerly took the paper from Professor Moses and she and Erin examined it slowly. After a few moments of examination, both girls gasped in horror at the paper.

"Uhm, what in the everloving hell..." Kristina commented.

"Shoot," Erin muttered.

THE DAILY PROPHET

_Kristina A. Magi_ : a Victim or a Perpetrator?  
By Rita Skeeter, October 23, 1984

_Next month, Desari S. Whitney's trial for Azkaban will determine whether or not she will spend time in Azkaban for casting two of the three Unforgivable Curses on her younger cousin, Kristina A. Magi [Pictured below]: Imperius and Cruciatus. Azkaban is for criminals, and I want to know why Desari may be placed here. So I, Rita Skeeter, decided to do a little bit of investigating at Hogwarts and getting input from her teachers at Hogwarts, her peers, and her cousin._

_Many teachers agreed on one thing: Desari was the most disruptive student they ever have had. Professor Minerva McGonagall said that detention was given a couple of times throughout her six months at Hogwarts. Although, Professor Severus Snape gave it more often than Professor McGonagall. Professor Meriwether Moses, however, never resorted to that. Instead, he threw her out of his class on a regular basis, because she was more interested in talking with her classmates than doing her work or listening to him._

_Professor Severus Snape gave her detention for "giving him attitude" several times. He also informed me that she hardly ever did her work and had poor grades in the class. "The most insolent child I have ever had the misfortune to teach Potions to," he told me in our interview. "She could stand to learn a couple of things from her younger cousin."_

_Professor Meriwether Moses, on the other hand, rarely ever resorted to detention. Instead, he chose to kick Desari out of class until she learned to stay quiet during his lessons. He said, "Desari is a very intelligent woman, however, she could never act like her age. She put the blame on others, and never took responsibility herself. It's a shame that she had to resort to torturing and making Kristina do her homework for her. She did not have a good childhood, and she took out her jealousy on Kristina, whose childhood was perhaps the most stable."_

_To me, it all made sense. Rebellious student, jealous of Kristina. Of course she's going to act out! Maybe this was the best course of action for Desari, show her how awful real life could be. And then, I got around to interviewing Kristina herself. She summarized what happened._

_Her father, Kthalas Magi, decided to try and give his niece a chance to finish out school at Hogwarts and hoped to help correct her behavior before going into the real world. However, Desari's ill-behavior started before school even began, not even a week after she moved in. It started with the need for space and the mess in Kristina's room. Even taking her socks off the floor and using them. Then, Kristina chose to sleep in another room for one night and came back to her room the next day, unable to get in. Her uncle, Severus Snape, had to unlock the door himself with a spell. Unfortunately, the room was also shielded. Kristina was away from her room one night, and Desari had already tried taking over it._

_Then, at school, Desari was sorted into Ravenclaw with Kristina, and they ended up sharing a room. This caused even more conflict than before. Kristina craved to be left alone by her cousin, who kept trying to embarrass her in front of her peers in Ravenclaw. And then Desari, later on in the year, took it upon herself to cast Imperius on Kristina, after failing another homework assignment by Professor Snape._

_However, was Kristina truly a victim? Or, could she possibly have been a perpetrator? When I interviewed Kristina, I saw a darkness surround her after I asked the question, "At what point do you think you may have to say that you were responsible for your cousin's actions?" She played it off, joking that it was her pet demon. Although, I think it was a real demon. As you can see from the photo, there are red eyes in the darkness and rather evil grin. She, of course, offered no further comment and left._

_I had no idea what I was looking at in the photo, taken without Kristina's permission or even her acknowledgement, and so when I took it to a local bestiary, they informed me that she is in cahoots with a demon. He told me it was a surprise I even made it out alive. She could have killed me, he added._

_After that, I decided to take it upon myself and ask Desari if she knew anything about that. She burst into tears, telling me that she used the unforgivable curses to protect herself from Kristina. She stated that Kristina threatened her in between classes, and abused her every time they were alone. She was glad to finally be expelled from Hogwarts, she just could not take the abuse any longer._

_So, who should really be on a trial for Azkaban? Desari, for defending herself? Or Kristina, someone who threatened and abused her cousin?_

Kristina's face went from a pale peach to apple red. She was absolutely furious. Clenching her teeth, she threw the piece of paper down on the table.

"What is this _bullshit_?" she nearly screamed.

"Kristina..." Erin touched her arm.

"This is why I abhor journalism," Professor Moses was shaking with anger.

Professor Snape was fuming silently. Professor McGonagall looked like she was still trying to figure out what she had just read. Dumbledore, however, seemed the most calm out of the staff members. Gently, he looked at Kristina and nodded.

"Kristina," he started. "Tell us, do you know anything about this demon that was portrayed in that photo of you?"

After a few moments of thinking, Kristina began trembling with anger like Professor Moses. Her voice cracked as she spoke.

"No, I don't know anything about this demon," she forced out a frustrated sob. "I don't know what any of this is about! I'd never make a deal with a demon, they're too dangerous. There's no way this is true. This _can't_ be anywhere near the truth."

"Not all demons ask for permission," Professor Snape forced out finally.

"Kris," Erin looked at her friend. "What if that's what's been going on with you? Your anxiety and depression are being multiplied by this demon."

"No way," Kristina made a squeaky sound that was supposed to be a sob.

"Kristina..." Dumbledore asked, still calm. Now, he was looking over his half-moon spectacles at her with a stern expression. "What is Erin talking about?"

Kristina forced herself to explain. Not that she even understood any of it, but she tried as best as she could. After she finished, her teachers all looked shocked and horrified.

"No, that's not good," Professor McGonagall whispered.

"Blessed goddess," Snape pushed his plate away from himself. He quickly lost the last bit of appetite he had.

"Wh-What?" Kristina asked. "What does this mean?"

"It means," Professor Snape started slowly, looking over at his niece. "The demon has taken a possession of you, and it is controlling your emotions." He picked up his glass of water and swished it around distantly. After a few hesitant seconds, he took a swig of the water and set the glass back down. "You have to take care to watch your emotions, more now than ever. If it doesn't feel right, you need to walk away from the situation because those are not yours. You don't know what will happen."

"What doesn't help the situation is that now you could be considered a danger to the other students," Professor Moses was calming down now, but his voice still shook. "And now the Ministry of Magic will have interest in you, Kristina."

"Why is nobody suggesting anything to split the demon from Kristina?" Erin snapped, unintentionally. After a few seconds, she realized she snapped and muttered an embarrassed apology.

"It's not particularly easy," Professor Snape sighed. "I didn't expect either of you to know something like that. Demon possession is an extremely rare phenomenon. Not many understand it. The only universal and known fact seems to be that those with demons non-contractually bound to them are likely to be a danger to others around them."

"D-Does that mean I will not be allowed to attend Hogwarts anymore?" Kristina asked in a shrill voice.

"No, no, no," Dumbledore shook his head. "Of course not! You are still you, and you deserve a chance to finish out school like the rest of your peers."

Kristina looked up timidly, "You think so, sir?"

"Would I tell a lie?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.

"'Course not," Kristina crossed her arms.

Snape made an unamused sound but Kristina could not tell what the sound was, other than unamused. Standing up, Professor Snape circled around to stand before Kristina. When he stopped in front of her, he took her hands and clutched them. Then, he looked at her with the most stern expression he had ever given her. There would be no bantering this time, she could immediately tell.

"Kristina," he started. "We will all make a group effort to recognize when you are losing your temper, or about to have an anxiety attack. However, we cannot all be there for you so you have to promise me one thing."

Kristina made herself meet his grey-eyed gaze.

"Promise me, my child, that you will seek me out immediately if something happens in your dorm," he urged.

"What if you're in the Slytherin dungeon, though?" Kristina asked. "I'm not allowed in the Slytherin common room though, am I?"

"I shall give you the password," he assured her. "And I will tell the Bloody Baron to make an exception for you."

After an awkward pause, Professor Snape sighed.

"Please promise me this," he told her. "I made a promise to your parents to protect you here. You have to promise me that you will let me protect and help you with this. I can't help you if you don't let me."

"Y-Yes...sir..." Kristina acknowledged shakily. "I promise."

"Thank you," Professor Snape thanked.

"Mm," Kristina still was struggling to comprehend the whole situation.

"I suggest you go get something to eat," Professor Snape suggested softly, releasing her hands. Her hands fell back to her side and Snape continued, "I shall tell you later today the password for the Slytherin dungeon, just not right now. I start my earliest class soon, I must be going."

"Yes sir," Kristina nodded solemnly.

"I do love you, my dear," he told her.

"Love you too, Uncle Severus," Kristina told him.

He inclined his head and walked off. Kristina and Erin looked at the rest of the teachers, who nodded their dismissal of them. Together, the girls walked to Ravenclaw table and hoped nobody else would notice them there.


	4. Demon's Misfortune

**Chapter Four**   
_Demon's Misfortune_

The next week, just about, passed in a blur for Kristina. For the most part, she was running on autopilot. Though, it was all the normal stuff. Morning: struggle out of bed, get dressed, get hugged by Erin, grab their stuff, and go to breakfast. Afternoon: lunch and review. Evening: supper, homework, shower, reading or listening to their favorite radio station: The Comedic Wizard, and then bed. Each class that passed, the teachers would make sure Kristina was alright, and also made sure she knew the Slytherin password by heart: cordis serpentem. She was to not tell anyone else, and she did not for sure.

Although it made Professor Snape rather awkward, he made sure to give Kristina a hug every day. He did it to make Kristina feel better. Though, nothing seemed to make her feel any better after that article about her. Nothing cheered her up. Not even the jokes told on their comedy radio shows. No amount of hugs could make things better for Kristina. Even worse, many students were beginning to avoid her like she was a virus. Even a couple of students whom she thought liked her were avoiding her.

This caused a great deal of depression to build up inside, making it harder to get out of bed every single day. Silence invaded the air around Kristina. Talking to anyone, even Professor Snape, seemingly hurt her. All she could manage to him was a weak, "Hi" and "Love you." Professor Snape grew worried about Kristina, and he tried to not express it outwards when in the presence of other students. Erin herself was at a loss on how to help Kristina. It was hard to watch her friend suffering internally, unable to smile and unable to communicate properly. However, neither Erin nor Professor Snape got frustrated with her. Instead, they kept their presence known and made sure Kristina knew they cared.

It was perhaps the following week after the article that Kristina finally had lost her grip on her emotions. There was simply no warning, and no way to tell what triggered the reaction precisely. What could have caused her to break down? She wished she knew. All she knew was that in the middle of Transfiguration she lost all control she had, dropped her wand on the table, and was now crying her eyes out. The next thing she knew, there were gasps of surprise and then there was a hand on her shoulder.

"Miss Magi," came Professor McGonagall's soft voice. "Do you need to see Professor Snape?"

Kristina shrugged her shoulders as she cried. She had no idea if seeing her uncle Severus was going to help any.

"Holy crap, what's wrong with her?" asked a concerned student.

"Kris..." Erin was stunned.

"But do demons really have feelings?" asked a sneering Slytherin.

"Mate, what's wrong with you?" spat back a Hufflepuff. "Girl's crying! And here you have to act like a total cunt about her situation. You even know what she's going though? No? Try walking a kilometer in her shoes before you bloody judge her. Blimey!"

"That is enough, Mr. Hammond," Professor McGonagall snapped. "And you too, Miss Northam."

"And the tension will make Kristina worse," Erin whispered under her breath.

Kristina was still trying to stop her crying, but she had no idea how to stop it. She did not even know why she was crying: she just was. Oliver Hammond furrowed his eyebrows with worry, and a couple of other kids snickered at the crying Kristina. After a couple of minutes, unable to get even a sentence from Kristina, Professor McGonagall chose to help Kristina up.

"How about you go to Professor Snape's classroom-I sure hope he's available-and sit with him until you're able to calm down?" Professor McGonagall suggested gently.

Unable to see any other reason not to, Kristina hesitantly nodded and walked out. She did not even bother with her school bag or her wand. She just went. Forcibly, she made herself try and stay as quiet as she could trekking to Professor Snape's potions class. With forcing herself to stay as quiet as she possibly could, she began hiccuping and the numbness in her cheeks grew quite apparent as her crying was stifled. Now, she was overwhelmed with dizziness.

By the time she got to her uncle's classroom, she was hiccuping and struggling to keep her balance. The door to the classroom was open but she still knocked. Kristina opened her mouth to speak but what seemed to come out was just a barely coherent squeak. Before she knew it, Professor Snape had approached her and grabbed her wrist as he led her to his office. A grudging glance was cast over his shoulder at his students, daring them to make comments. When he got her to his office, he quickly closed the door and sat Kristina down on his desk.

"Kristina," he started, anxiety hinted in his voice. "What's wrong?"

Kristina shrugged, fighting tears again. Her voice trembled as she replied with, "I don't know."

"Tell me, what happened?" Professor Snape crossed his arms.

"I-I don't know," Kristina's voice was cracked. Roughly, she wiped at her tears with the back of her hand and gave a frustrated sigh at herself. With a hiccup, she continued, "Just...I was in the middle of trying to transfigure a rabbit but all of a sudden, I just started crying. There was no warning, and no trigger."

"That is a symptom of depression," Professor Snape told her. "Was there anything else?"

"I-I don't know," Kristina admitted. "I mean, I kinda got dizzy but I figured it was from trying to not cry on my way here...I didn't want to attract attention...because you know, kids are awful." She nearly choked on the last couple of words, bringing more tears to her eyes.

"I know that all too well..." Snape scowled. "You know, was there anybody...bullying...you before you started crying?"

"N-No..." Kristina shook her head. "Everybody was too focused on transfiguring their hamsters. Erin and I got rabbits because we did well with the hamsters."

"Hm, well..." Professor Snape sighed. "You'd be amazed at how many dare to utter anything about you in my other classes. It's bloody ridiculous."

Kristina sniffed and wiped at her face again and forced a weak sob out again.

"Oh my," Professor Snape sighed. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I-I don't know," Kristina admitted.

Professor Snape looked to the side and sighed.

"It's okay, my child," he reached over and pulled her into a gentle hug. "Just...shh...calm down. Control yourself, child..."

After a few more shuddering sobs, Kristina finally calmed down completely and took the first normal breath she'd taken in several minutes. Professor Snape pulled back but placed his hands on her shoulders. Gently he looked her in the eye and his face twitched as he attempted to smile. He could not.

"You worry me sick, my child," he told her.

"I know," Kristina admitted.

"Just so you know, it is not something to be proud of," Professor Snape warned her. Then, he paused and sighed, "Neither is your stubbornness, however, you seem to take much enjoyment out of being stubborn. You are your father's child..."

Kristina forced a smile to her face, "Of course."

"That's much better," Professor Snape told her, gently sweeping her hair back. "You are not allowed to become your favorite uncle..."

"Aw, but it's so fun," Kristina told him.

"No, not particularly," Professor Snape told her, putting a hand on her chin and tilting her head up. "Now, chin up my dear and go back to class. Transfigure that rabbit into something excellent. Make me proud."

"'Course, Uncle Severus," Kristina giggled and threw her arms around him in a hug. "Love you."

"I love you too, my child," he told her.

As she left, something felt off. Despite having been able to laugh at Professor Snape's attempt at a joke, and him asking her to make him proud, she immediately felt gloomy again after she walked out. It slammed into her like one of those muggle Mac trucks. Frustrated, she slammed her hands on her face and groaned.

"Gods, I hate this," she muttered.

Annoyed, she glanced at a nearby mirror blankly. She stared at herself and stood there, nearly motionless for a few moments. Then, she noticed her eyes changing color. She rubbed them roughly, thinking she was hallucinating. No. Her eyes really were turning crimson.

"Oh what the hell..." Kristina muttered. "That's...That's not right..."

Annoyed, she growled at herself.

"Whatever," she hissed. "Stupid demon. You're not going to control me. I'm gonna enjoy my Halloween, dammit. You're not going to ruin it!"

She flung her arms back down beside her and she stalked back to class.

x x x

Kristina did a very good job of keeping her eyes from being noticed. By the time supper came, she and Erin were quietly enjoying the treats and giggling at the house ghosts being...strange, to say the least. Nearly Headless Nick from Gryffindor was floating around scaring the first years, the ones who had never seen a nearly decapitated ghost before. The girls giggled at the scene of a whole group of Gryffindors screaming at the top of their lungs. Was it really nice that they were laughing? Perhaps not, but it was Halloween. It was all in fun.

However, being kicked in the leg while sitting at the Ravenclaw table was not in fun. Kristina knew this because someone came over and kicked her directly in the calf, right from behind. Kristina jerked her legs forward, gasping in pain. Quickly, she whipped her head around and glared at the person who kicked her. The girl was a Slytherin, with pitch black hair, green eyes, and pale skin. She wore a ton of makeup, which included black lipstick over her lips. She, perhaps, was the school goth. At least, this was according to Kristina.

"Owch!" she hissed after recognizing who it was. "What was that for?"

The Slytherin, Alex Northam, drew her lips back in a disparaging smile.

"You know exactly what that was for," she told her.

"Bloody hell, can't a girl just enjoy her frickin' Halloween without people trying to ruin it for her?" Kristina muttered, standing up and turning towards Alex. "Go back to the Slytherin table before I tell Professor Snape on you."

"Aw, you're gonna go cry to your uncle?" Alex made a pouty face and showed her a lack of empathy. "Oh you're so cute. Thinking that's gonna stop me. What's Professor Snape gonna do? Give me detention?"

"Yeah, because unlike you he can actually take my word for things," Kristina spat. "I don't lie, unlike you."

"Pfft," Alex shook her head. "You really think he likes you? He's terrified of you because of that demon you made a contract with."

"Stop lying," Kristina demanded through clenched teeth. "He's not afraid of me and I had nothing to do with the damn demon. You think I wanted this?"

"Oh yeah, I hear him every day going, 'She's a monster' and 'I can't stand her anymore'. Honestly heartbreaking," Alex teased. "Have you ever seen a grown man cry? Yeah. He's crying for his own personal safety because he's so scared of you."

Kristina threw herself at Alex, grabbing her by the shoulders and baring her teeth at her.

"Keep this up and I'll give you something to fear," Kristina snapped. "Go ahead. Make my day. By the way, I've seen him cry before. He cried for days on end. He's never cried in front of anybody else so keep lying. Keep fucking lying you insolent piece of cunt shit."

"Kristina, calm down," Erin warned.

After Alex gave a satisfied smirk, Kristina let go of her with a rough push back. Alex dusted off her Slytherin robes and pursed her black-colored lips together. Kristina glared at her, not amused in the slightest and panting from her rant.

"You're so easy," Alex told her. "Anybody can pick on you and you immediately give the reaction that was expected."

"So what?" Kristina asked.

"You are an awful Ravenclaw," Alex told her. "Should'a been a Hufflepuff."

"Okay that's it," Kristina snapped and pushed Alex down onto the floor. "If you're gonna start insulting me like that, I am not having it." She went to pull out her wand but her arms locked up on her and she now was fighting to move.

"Kris!" Erin exclaimed. "Shoot!"

"Kristina Magi!" came a voice. After examining the sound, it was Professor Snape's voice. "Oh dear gods..."

Alex screamed at Kris and ran the other way. Something scared her off. Well, at least that part was over with! But now...other students were screaming, and Kristina was still locked in place and it was not by any magical binding spell. Soon, teachers were shouting at the students to calm down, and a couple of teachers rushed to help Kristina. The voices were all mashed together, and there was no telling what voice belonged to who. She was lucky to even be able to tell what was being said. Barely, however.

Everyone else but Kristina could see the cloud of darkness, that was all Professor Snape could seem to call it, with the crimson eyes and sadistic smile crossing its face. Or, the lack thereof. That was until it nearly coalesced into a humanoid form. It—rather, she—had large, black, feathery wings, black hair, and pale skin for her face. Her skin was paler than Kristina's skin. The rest of her body, however, were covered in the same black feathers as her wings. On her head sprouted two curled back ram horns. She sported a sneer cross her face.

The demon spoke not a single word as she flitted across the room at Alex and all the students froze in place. Just as the demon approached the Slytherin girl, all of the teachers pointed a wand at her and forced her to dissipate back in Kristina. The demon screamed in agony as she forced her way back into Kristina. She gasped and choked as the demon went back into her. Now it was calm and quiet in the Great Hall. However, the calm did not last for very long.

Suddenly, her vision blurred and a rushing sound flooded her mind. Now she could not make out any specific words being said by anybody. The screams were now faint and distant. Black clouds slowly then pressed their way through her vision, and Kristina blinked with disbelief. Warmth flooded her whole body as her knees suddenly buckled in on her. Thankfully, there was somebody behind her and they caught her in their arms before she could hurt herself. Sweat dripped down her face and that was one of the last things she had felt before she completely fainted. The last thing she saw for a couple of minutes, however, were two crimson eyes staring right at her. Just as the darkness took over, she heard commotion over her. The muffled voices could almost be understood again.

"Everyone get away from her," shouted one voice, the closest to her. A male, obviously an adult. It was Professor Snape, and his face was etched with concern. He was caressing Kristina gently in his arms, trying to figure out what was going on with her.

"Kristina, my dear, are you okay?" asked another voice. Another adult, female. It was Professor McGonagall. She was between shocked and concerned for Kristina. Shocked at what just happened, concerned whether or not Kristina was going to be okay. That had to hurt.

"Oh no, what just happened? What did we just do to her?" came another adult male voice. However, his voice was distinguishable by the semi-nasally tone in his voice. Professor Moses was shaking from fear. That demon just came out of practically nowhere and nearly harmed another student. And that demon was supposedly Kristina's demon. Was this conscious?

"That just happened!" came a voice, obviously female and obviously around her age. Erin, now, was freaking out over the demon. "What was that? What happened to Kristina? Is Kristina okay?"

"That...that was a demon," Professor Moses crossed his arms in an attempt to calm himself down. "I think she's fainted by the looks of it."

"She's lost her color," Professor Snape commented. "I'm going to take her to Madam Pomfrey."

"Professor," Erin started. "Could I come with?"

"Hartnell, you stay back," Professor Snape warned as he stood up with Kristina in his arms. Levicorpus was not a valid idea at that moment. No, not with the risk of hurting her more by using magic and carrying her upside down.

"Professor, I politely demand I come with you."

"No."

Kristina forced some sort of jumble of words out of her mouth. She knew this, because the male voice shushed her.

"Shush, my child," Professor Snape shushed. "I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey."

Her hand went up. She knew this, because she felt someone's face. The face of the man carrying her. It was the first thing she'd felt in minutes. His face was soft and smooth. But that was all she could tell. However, she did finally realize she was being caressed in his arms with her face against his chest. The fabric beneath her cheeks was soft and cottony. Her vision refused to clear up. Voices could be distinguished again: the man carrying her was Professor Snape. Erin was beside him, trying to beg him to let her follow. He continued to tell her 'no' and 'go back to the Great Hall NOW'.

"Uncle Snake..." Kristina heard herself mumble under her breath.

"Sh...sh..."

"Professor, please! She's my friend. I deserve to be there," Erin was keeping pace with Professor Snape.

Suddenly, Professor Snape snapped at Erin. "Go back to the Great Hall now or I will deduct points from Ravenclaw and give you detention! Got it?!"

Erin immediately shut up, but Kristina could sense a grudging glare at Professor Snape. Next thing she knew, she recognized the sound of her best friend storming off in a fit of rage. Professor Snape barely tolerated Erin. It was not anything against her, it was just how he was.

"Finally," he grumbled, continuing walking. "Insufferable know-it-all."

"Er...in..."

"No, she doesn't need to be here," Professor Snape told her gently.

When Erin returned to the Great Hall, she hunted down Alex in the midst of the Slytherin kids at their table. She glossed over the table a few times before she found the trying-too-hard goth girl standing with a group of other girls, with a couple of boys standing behind her. Angry, Erin pushed through until she got there and when she was within reach, she grabbed Alex by her wrist and pulled her out of her group. Before Alex could make any sort of response, Erin pulled back a clenched fist and popped Alex right in the eye. The girl stumbled backwards with a yelp of pain.

"That's what you get for bullying Kristina," Erin spat. "I hope you like what you just did! Thanks. Thanks a lot, you jerk!"

Without another word, Erin spun on her heels and stalked away from the Slytherin group and back to her seat. She was not in a mood to try and fight with Professor Snape, but at least she got to punch Alex in the face.

"Bloody jerk deserved it," she muttered.

Within minutes, Kristina felt herself being placed on a bed and then her hair being gently sweeped back behind her ear.

"Madam Pomfrey," he started. "My dearest Kristina has fainted."

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"The demon that Skeeter wrote about in her article? Yeah. It decided to unleash itself today during supper. Kristina blacked out and I have reason to believe she is still conscious and delirious."

"Sever...us..." Kristina groaned.

"I will go get her a potion for this," Madam Pomfrey told him.

"It's okay, Kristina," Professor Snape told her. His hands were wrapping themselves around her right hand. "It's okay. You're fine...you're fine...Maybe I can take you to Slytherin dungeon when Madam Pomfrey is finished. You'd like that, right? You'd perhaps feel more comfortable...no, no...I'm being silly. Not after tonight. Well...I don't know...perhaps..."

His voice went back out, and she could not process the feeling again. However, she knew that Professor Snape was still there and still holding her hands. This was because she knew him. Her uncle Severus would not leave her side. No, not in a situation such as this. Before she knew it, she felt her consciousness slip and she fell into an unconscious state, leaving an extremely worried Professor Snape watching over her and making sure that she was okay.


	5. Upside Down

**Chapter Five  
** _Upside Down_

"She'll wake up within the next several hours," Madam Pomfrey promised Professor Snape after she made Kristina drink a cup of potion. She was holding Kristina's jaw open and tilting the bowl towards her mouth. Once the potion was gone, Madam Pomfrey removed the bowl and took it to be cleaned later.

"Why several hours?" Professor Snape asked as Madam Pomfrey walked off.

"Her body, her brain in particular, needs to recuperate from the fainting," Madam Pomfrey told him, setting the bowl down. Then, she turned around and walked back to her patient's bed. "I'm thinking she maybe really weak for the next half-hour afterwards, but that's typical with fainting spells."

"Will she be fine?" Professor Snape asked.

"Yes, she should be fine," Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"Bloody demon," Professor Snape hissed under his breath. "Now the Ministry is sure to have a reason to pick on Kristina."

"You and I both know that it wasn't her," Madam Pomfrey assured him.

"No, it wasn't her," Professor Snape agreed. "However, do you think the Ministry is going to see it that way? No. They're going to see an unstable child."

"And that is when you present the case that she is not unstable," Madam Pomfrey told him.

"It's likely to be a battle," Professor Snape sighed. "There's no way they will take my word for it. Or Meriwether's...or Minerva's...What do you think, Madam Pomfrey? Is she a danger?"

"No," Madam Pomfrey told him.

"Is there a way to separate Kristina from this... _demon_?" Professor Snape asked.

"As far as I know, no," Madam Pomfrey responded. "And I know about as much as the average healer at St. Mungo's."

"That's unfortunate," Professor Snape grumbled, looking back at Kristina. 

"Professor, why don't  _you_  research a way to separate them?" Madam Pomfrey responded, smiling at the plausible idea. "You've invented spells before."

"Well...it's certainly possible I could..." Professor Snape muttered.

"You can, and you should," Madam Pomfrey told him. "You know that would help Kristina so much, Severus."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt in the slightest," Professor Snape muttered.

"Indeed."

"Madam Pomfrey," Professor Snape started awkwardly. "May I take her to the Slytherin dungeon? I would like to keep an eye on her for the rest of the night, and I think that would be the best way to do it."

"No," Madam Pomfrey told him. "I think McGonagall sent someone who can keep any eye on her." She glanced over Professor Snape's shoulder and saw the young Ravenclaw, Erin Hartnell, standing there. Professor Snape glanced as well and scowled with anger.

"Miss Hartnell," he started. "I said for you to stay at the Great Hall."

"Yeah, well, Professor McGonagall and Professor Moses told me to come here," Erin told him.

"Hey, what happened to your hand?" Madam Pomfrey asked, lifting up Erin's clenched fist and examined the slight bloodstain against her chocolate skin.

"My hand? Oh. That!" Erin feigned surprise. "I punched Alex. I hope I gave her a black eye...jerk...I-It's fine, Madam Pomfrey. My hand is just a little sore. The blood is Alex's, I think."

"Are you sure? Alright..." Madam Pomfrey sighed.

"I did not think you had it in you, Hartnell," Professor Snape grumbled.

"Well, neither did I and yet here we are," Erin responded. "Got what she bloody deserved. No one messes with my friend and gets away with it."

"That's a good attitude to have," Madam Pomfrey smiled at Erin.

"I demand I stay the entire night," Professor Snape demanded suddenly.

"Professor, you know you can't," Madam Pomfrey reminded him.

"She's my niece!" Professor Snape exclaimed. "I promised her father."

"She's your cousin," Erin reminded.

"SILENCE!" Professor Snape hissed.

"Erin, despite their blood relationship they can still be uncle and niece," Madam Pomfrey reminded gently.

Professor Snape stalked up to Erin with a rather agitated air around him, "You insufferable know-it-all."

"A  _sabelostodos_?" Erin grinned.

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Professor Snape exclaimed. "No one cares about what it's called in another language!"

"Anyway!" Madam Pomfrey glared at Professor Snape. "Erin is right: you cannot stay here the entire night, and neither can I. However, Erin is welcome to do so."

Snape grimaced at Erin, expecting to see a smug expression on her face. However, Erin was not petty enough to do that. Instead, she nodded in agreement with Madam Pomfrey.

"Yeah, Professor," she started in the calmest voice she could manage. "I know you promised Mister Magi to keep an eye out on her, but I think he'll understand this. Besides, if you were to bring her anywhere near the Slytherin common room for the next few days, you might cause a couple of panic attacks for your students. I know she's allowed to be in Slytherin with your supervision, but perhaps not tonight. Not after what happened in the Great Hall. And you do know this."

Professor Snape frowned but nodded in agreement. Erin, unfortunately, was right. He could not bring Kristina anywhere near the Slytherin common room. It would be the same for the other two houses if things were different. In fact, he was almost certain the Ravenclaws would be scared to have her back in there. However, there had to be a certain amount of knowledge in there that it was not Kristina they saw earlier. Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff probably would not be able to acknowledge it, however, Snape felt that Ravenclaw could. Could, being the operative word.

"Fine," Professor Snape managed in a gruff voice. "I'll be back first thing in the morning to see Kristina, however."

"That's fine, Severus," Madam Pomfrey told him gently.

"But I'm staying as long as I can, as well," he added.

"You've got another ten minutes," Madam Pomfrey teased.

Snape rolled his eyes, "Great..."

He sat down beside Kristina again and did not move for the next ten minutes. Watching Kristina breathe almost calmed him down. However, having to get up and leave her broke his heart. Before he left, he cast a sideways glare at Erin but realized this was not in his control, and he had to go back to the Slytherin dungeon. He promised Kristina silently that he would be back the next morning. Just before he left, Erin took ahold of Kristina's hand and rested her head against the bed. Madam Pomfrey pulled a blanket over Kristina, being careful of Erin's face, and she followed Professor Snape out for the evening.

x x x

The potion Madam Pomfrey gave her worked its magic, naturally. Kristina was beginning to waking back up after being completely out cold for several hours. A strike of pain behind her eyes caused her to be aware that she was finally awake. Although, it certainly did not feel like she had been asleep. If she had slept, she thought to herself, that was the worst rest she'd ever gotten! Confusion made itself known. Where was she? Was she back in bed for some reason? But why? What happened? And...was someone holding her right hand?

Kristina realized that something with the demon had something to do with this. Really, it was the only thing that made sense. However, she had no idea how to prove it because she could not remember what happened. Then again, if the demon had something to do with this did that mean she was in the hospital wing? Kristina felt the sheets between her fingers on her free hand. Those were not her flannel sheets. That was regular cotton sheets. Well, it was plausible she was in the hospital wing because the sheets were not hers. Very slim chance that Erin put her in her bed instead, or changed Kris's sheets.

Suddenly, she felt someone pick up her free hand and hold it gently. Someone else was now holding her hand, great. The hand felt much larger than the hand holding her left hand, indicating a man was holding her hand. The only man she could think of holding her hand would be Professor Snape. So then...who was the other person holding her hand?

"You're not awake yet?" came Professor Snape's voice. "Dear me... please...wake up soon, Kristina."

There a sharp intake of breath on the other side of Kristina. Erin woke up from sleeping slouched in the chair beside Kristina's bed, holding her hand loosely. When she sat up, she was surprised to see Professor Snape there and she blushed.

"Professor, isn't it late in the night?" she asked.

"No, it's actually quite early in the morning," Professor Snape grumbled.

"What?" Erin groaned. "It doesn't feel like morning. I slept awfully."

"Perhaps you shouldn't have slept slouched in a chair," Professor Snape sneered. "Holding Kristina's hand."

"Yeah, yeah," Erin rolled her eyes and let go of Kristina's hand.

After letting go, Erin stood up and stretched her arms over her head. As she threw up her arms up, Professor Snape caught a glance of the blood still caked on Erin's hand, almost blending in with her dark skin. He scowled. She did bust her hand punching Alex in the face, she just did not want to admit it. Either that, or the adrenaline wore off. Snape chose the former option.

"Hartnell," he started. "Are you sure your hand is fine?"

"I..." Erin looked at her hand. "I think it's fine..."

"Get Madam Pomfrey to heal it later," Professor Snape ordered. "Alright?"

"Fine, I suppose," Erin shrugged.

Finally, after listening to their voices, Kristina decided to show she  _was_  awake and slowly opened her eyes. At first, her vision was blurred. She could see a dark blur above her, and she immediately assumed that was Professor Snape, what with his dark hair and dark clothing and all. However, there was no making out facial features for a couple of minutes as her vision corrected itself. Unconsciously, she made herself sit up and immediately she felt a hand stretched out to stop her. Then, Professor Snape's quiet voice caught her attention.

"Kristina, lie back down, my child," he told her.

"Mm..." Kristina blinked and her vision finally corrected itself. Now, Professor Snape's face was clear enough that she could immediately tell he had a worried expression etched on his face as he knelt down beside her. Worried, he rested a shaky hand on her shoulder, reaching to brush her hair behind her ear at the same time.

"Are you feeling alright?" Professor Snape asked, his voice cool yet gentle.

"I uhm...I think so," Kristina blinked in disbelief.

"Do you remember anything?" Professor Snape asked, curious.

"No," Kristina shook her head. "What happened?"

"You fainted, Kristina," he told her. "Right after we forced the demon back inside you."

"D...Did I hurt anyone?" Kristina asked, worried.

"No, but you terrorized just about everyone in the Great Hall," Professor Snape told her.

"And the demon went after Alex," Erin added. "It was kinda scary..."

"Yeah, well you went after her yourself afterwards," Snape sneered.

"I have absolutely no regrets," Erin replied.

"Wait, what?" Kristina rubbed at her eyes. "What happened?"

"Miss Hartnell here decided to take a swing at Miss Northam," Professor Snape answered.

"Hey, Alex started it technically with her bullying Kris last night," Erin muttered.

"I'm not saying whose fault it was," Professor Snape glared.

"Does she have a bruise yet?" Erin asked, almost anxious, and ignoring Professor Snape's response.

"I don't know, you will have to see for yourself," Professor Snape smirked.

"Dang," Erin grumbled.

"So...the demon...did a thing...and scared the students?" Kristina asked.

"It basically came out of you, went to attack Miss Northam, us teachers forced it back, and you fainted," Professor Snape summed up. "Is that a good enough summary? And I believe we may have to work on how we make it go away...because I am not doing this every single time..."

"No, you will, but you're not going to like it," Erin grinned.

"Silence!" Professor Snape snarled.

"I mean, it's true," Erin shrugged.

"Watch your mouth..." Professor Snape warned, then turned his attention to Kristina. "How are you feeling, my child?"

"I'm...I think I'm feeling better now," Kristina answered. "I don't know. Should I go to my classes today? I'm not sure I feel well enough to. More or less, I'm just nervous. I don't feel at all rested either."

"That's because your brain was kinda forced to...shut down? I guess? Like...it was a hard restart and yeah...that's why you don't feel well rested," Erin told her. "The muggle proper term for it is 'syncope'. Really fascinating, to be honest."

"How about I go get you a plate of food so you can eat, and then we can talk about that while you eat?" Professor Snape suggested gently. "That way, there's enough time for you to figure out what you're feeling like. Alright? I know what we're doing in my class today, and you are quite familiar with what I'm showing the class today so I don't have any qualms with you missing class. And perhaps Miss Know-It-All over here can bring you your notes for the other classes you have." Erin gave Professor Snape a proud grin at the attempt at insulting her.

"I know I'm a know-it-all and I'm very proud of it," Erin responded.

"Naturally," Professor Snape muttered coldly and stood up. He crossed his arms and turned to Erin, "Miss Hartnell, please. Come with me to breakfast. I would like you to eat as well, and be ready in case Kristina has to stay here the rest of the day or sent back to Ravenclaw tower."

"Right..." Erin sighed.

"Uncle Severus," Kristina started.

He jerked his head to glance at her with a soft expression, "Yes, my child?"

"If I were to go back to Ravenclaw tower today, would you take me there?" Kristina asked sheepishly.

"If it does not interfere with my classes, I could," Professor Snape nodded.

"Madam Pomfrey may keep you here for a couple more hours for observation," Erin pointed out. "With any luck, you'd be out around lunch and Professor Snape can take you there during lunch."

"True..." Kristina muttered.

"I'll be back with your breakfast," Professor Snape assured Kristina. "Alright?"

"Mhm," Kristina nodded.

He bent over and Kristina threw her arms around him. Professor Snape clutched her for a moment, afraid to let go (for whatever reason he simply could not figure out), but soon was able to let go and leave her be.

x x x

With great reluctance, Kristina decided not to go to her classes that day, and Madam Pomfrey agreed with her choice. The thought of walking around, lugging around her stuff made her feel rather dizzy. In fact, it was near impossible to walk without feeling nauseous. Madam Pomfrey indeed encouraged Kristina's decision, and Professor Snape supported it wholeheartedly. Madam Pomfrey even allowed Professor Snape to take Kristina back to Ravenclaw tower so she could be back in her room without issue.

"No worries, Madam Pomfrey," Professor Snape assured as he swung by after he ate lunch. "I plan to carry her back, rather than let her walk. I do not wish to bring her back with a broken bone because she lost balance, and I had the misfortune to not catch her."

Madam Pomfrey giggled, "Whatever you say, Severus. Just don't drop her on her head!"

"Oh I would never," Professor Snape crouched and reached out to pick up Kristina. "Her mother has already done that, at least once."

"Uncle Severus, I—" Kristina's face turned red as he grabbed her under arms and forced her up into his arms.

"You know, this is for old time's sake?" he teased, putting his arm under her.

"Oh, you're going  _there_!" Kristina squeaked out in utter embarrassment. "Uncle Severus, why must you embarrass me so?"

"Because I love you," Professor Snape told her. "And, because I can."

"I swear, Severus, you seem to be an excellent uncle and cousin," Madam Pomfrey told him.

"I've had fifteen years' practice on her," he responded. "No reason I should stop now. Kristina, put your arms around my neck. I cannot carry you like this if you do not cooperate with me."

"You sure you're not gonna embarrass yourself?" Kristina asked, doing as her uncle ordered.

"Your father would appreciate my effort to keep you from hurting yourself, so I really don't care," Professor Snape responded.

"Alright, well, certainly feel better, Kristina," Madam Pomfrey told her. "Rest up tonight, and perhaps you will be able to go to your classes tomorrow."

"I expect she will sleep for the rest of the day," Professor Snape muttered.

"Hm?" Madam Pomfrey looked at him.

"Sleeping potion, in my pocket," he muttered. "Madam Pomfrey, I must be off. I've not much time left before my next class."

"Alright, Severus. Be careful with her!"

"You don't have to remind me," Professor Snape grumbled as he spun on his heels and stalked out of the hospital wing.

Kristina pulled herself up in his arms and rested her face in his chest, "Uncle Severus?"

"Yes?" he asked.

"Am...Am I going to alright?" Kristina asked him softly as he walked.

"What do you mean?" Professor Snape asked.

"After last night, aren't I a danger to the school?"

"No, no," Professor Snape assured her. "No, you are surrounded by the best wizards in the country."

"Am I staying?" Kristina asked.

"Yes, as far as I know," Professor Snape assured her. "Unless Dumbledore says otherwise, which I highly doubt, you are going to continue your education here."

"What about the other kids?" Kristina asked.

"My gods child, you ask so many questions..." Professor Snape grumbled. "Ignore them, child. I trust you can do your best to ignore them. You are of House Ravenclaw, are you not?"

"Yes sir..." Kristina nodded and pressed her face against Professor Snape's jaw. She sniffled, trying to hide the tears.

"Dear me, Kristina," Professor Snape started. "I promise, you are fine. I will make sure you will remain here, and I will get you free of that damned demon. Got that?"

"Really?" Kristina asked.

"Would I lie to you, Kristina?" he asked.

"No..." Kristina looked at him.

"Oh my, I forgot Ravenclaw tower is accessed by riddles," Professor Snape grumbled. "There is a whole group of them outside the door."

"We've almost got— OH GOD WHAT IS PROFESSOR SNAPE DOING HERE?!"

"Knock it off," Professor Snape hissed. "I have your housemate here under an order."

"You're bringing the demon back?" asked a first year. "But why? She almost killed that Slytherin!"

"Australia was still there! They just hadn't discovered it yet!" cried out a Ravenclaw. "There! That's the answer."

The door swung open and a couple of Ravenclaws went through, eyeing Professor Snape anxiously.

"I am allowed in here," Professor Snape sneered at them as he followed them in. "I am not going to do anything in the tower. I have no desire to."

"Fine," a couple of them grumbled as Professor Snape walked through, clutching Kristina in his arms. "Which way to the ladies' dorm?"

"That way," a girl pointed.

"Thank you but I wasn't asking you," Professor Snape muttered.

He turned in the direction Kristina pointed and walked her towards that.

"Uncle Severus," Kristina started again. "What are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do about what?" Professor Snape asked.

"The demon," Kristina told him. "Is there anything you can do about it?"

Professor Snape swallowed hard, "Which room?"

"Back right," Kristina told him. "You should remember from last year..."

"Right, silly me..." Professor Snape muttered under his breath and continued walking.

"You didn't answer my question though," Kristina told him as he approached her room and opened the door.

Silence followed as he carried her into the room and set her in the bed that looked like hers. A blanket on top had a fox surrounded by cherry blossom and Japanese maple trees. Obviously hers. He set her down and reached into his jacket and pulled out a vial of a pale yellow potion. He popped the top off of it and handed it to Kristina.

"Uncle Severus, you didn't answer my question," Kristina told him, staring him directly in the eye, demanding an answer.

"Yes, I know I didn't," Professor Snape growled. "Now take the vial and drink the potion. I want you to get proper rest for the rest of the day."

"Is there anything you can do about the demon?" Kristina demanded.

"Yes," he hesitated. "Er, once I perform the proper research on the demon then we will see what can be done about her."

Finally, Kristina took the vial from Professor Snape. She downed the potion and handed it back.

"There," she grumbled.

"I promise, I will do what I can to get rid of this demon," he told her, a glint of light reflected in Professor Snape's dark grey eyes. "I cannot allow you to suffer. You have already suffered enough, what with your cousin. And the damn article Skeeter wrote about you...and your depression and anxiety. No, you don't deserve this. Not in the slightest."

"You really think so?" Kristina asked.

"Yes," Professor Snape gently placed his hands on her cheeks and touched his forehead to hers. "Kristina, promise me you will not let your peers damage your emotions."

Kristina blinked away a tear and nodded, "I'll try."

"Oh don't cry..." Professor Snape sighed.

"I can't help it," Kristina reached to wipe at her face. "I'm so frustrated internally."

"I understand, but you must stay strong," he told her. "Not only for me, but your father and your mother. And...Miss Hartnell as well."

"I will," Kristina promised. "Because I love you guys."

Professor Snape forced a smile to his lips, "That is a good reason, my dear."

He gently led her to lie down on her back, "Come on, my child. Lie down. Rest. Don't you worry a thing today, alright? When you wake up, take a nice long bath. Take care of yourself today. Alright?"

"Right," Kristina lied down and drew the blankets up to her shoulders.

Professor Snape stood up, "Is there a book you would like beside your bed? Perhaps a set of clean clothes for later?"

"Yeah," Kristina nodded at a dresser. "The dresser has a folded stack of clothes for each day. Doesn't matter what you pick, they're all the same shirt and pants and underclothes combination."

"Socks?"

"On top of each pile. Top drawer, actually."

Professor Snape turned and walked towards the dresser. He opened the top drawer cautiously, worried the underwear would be on top, under a balled up pair of socks. However, he was surprised to see the shirt was on the top, underneath the socks. He grabbed the first one he saw and closed the drawer. Quiet, he turned back around and placed the shirts on her nightstand.

"And a book? A book would likely help you relax while you soak in the bath," Professor Snape looked around. "Where is your bookcase?"

Kristina pulled up her bedskirt and there was a line of books under her bed.

"Any particular book you'd like?" he asked.

"Just pick one," Kris shrugged at him.

Professor Snape carefully selected a book, one named ' _Pet Sematary_ ' by an author named Stephen King.

" _Pet Sematary_?" he read the title out loud.

"Oh! I haven't read that one yet!" Kristina stifled a yawn right after.

"I'll put it right on top of your outfit," Professor Snape told her. "Is that alright?"

"Sure," Kristina told him.

"Alright," Professor Snape told her. "I must be off, my child."

He bent over and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Rest well...my dear. I will see you later, alright?"

"Yes, Uncle Severus," Kristina agreed.

Just as Professor Snape turned to walk out, Kristina spoke up again.

"Uncle Severus?"

"Yes?" he looked over his shoulder at her. Her eyes were half-open. She was almost ready to fall asleep, but she was fighting it for a couple more minutes.

"May I...may I help you find a way to get rid of the demon?" she asked sheepishly.

Professor Snape forced a smile to his face, "Of course you may. I would be delighted to have your help, Kristina."

Kristina smiled the most content smile he'd seen in over a week.

"Thank you, Uncle Snake..."

There was a couple moments of pause. Professor Snape peered over his shoulder and saw Kristina had finally fallen asleep.

"Sleep well, my dear," he whispered, closing the door behind him.


	6. Demonic Conversion

**Chapter Six  
** _Demonic Conversion_

The next two weeks did not lighten up as much Kristina had hoped. Alex did end up with a nasty black eye after Erin had popped her in the face, however, it got healed the following day. After that, Alex was back to her usual cruel self, even making sure to save some nasty retorts for Erin as well. Kristina's demon chose to remain hidden for those couple of weeks, even amid Alex's cruel bullying and her gossip of Kristina and Erin. Since the incident, Kristina had a couple of breakdowns, but Professor Snape was able to quell them.

Both Kristina and Professor Snape spent time during the weekends reading about demons in the library, and sometimes before supper as well. They wrote down anything they found useful and then compared their notes afterwards. Nothing about this made sense, however. Everything they found did not seem to fit this demon at all. The demon seemed to be doing its own thing.

That day in the middle of November, right after Erin's birthday, Kristina, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Snape were to meet again to do a physical examination to see if she had any of the demon abilities, just from curiosity's sake. However, when Kristina arrived at Professor Snape's office, she was surprised to see the door cracked open and Professor Snape talking with an unfamiliar man. Kristina peered into the room but kept her presence unknown.

"She is  _not_  a danger to Hogwarts students," Professor Snape snapped at the man.

The unfamiliar man, Kristina finally found, was a lot taller than Professor Snape was by at least five inches. She couldn't see much, but she could tell he wore glasses and a long royal blue cloak. And had peachy skin, a contrast to her ashen skin but not by much. But that was all she could tell from her position in the door crack.

"How do you know she's not a danger?" the man asked Professor Snape.

"Because I know her," Professor Snape answered. It was at this point Kristina realized he was holding a jacket over his arm. For a few moments, she stared at it, curious as to why he had a jacket over his arm. However, the other man spoke and Kristina's attention was snapped away from the jacket.

"Oh yes, you're her uncle," the man started seriocomically. "Or should I say, her cousin. Tell me, how did you never know you and Kthalas were related?"

"That's irrelevant to the conversation at hand, Crilli," Professor Snape drew back his lips in a sneer.

"Fine, tell me about the demon," the man named Crilli growled. "It's also said that demons are similar to a metamorphmagus, being able to change form at will."

"The demon acts of her own accord. Kristina has nothing to do with her," Professor Snape responded. "That's all we know as of right now. And I highly doubt Kristina is a metamorphmagus...Perhaps if you let me study her, I can give you a better answer. However, taking her away will not do you any favors. In fact, you will make things much worse than you want."

"Are you sure about that?" Crilli asked.

"Yes, I am positive," Professor Snape growled. "Now, get out of my office. Your presence sickens me."

"Fine, fine," the man turned and proceeded towards the door.

Kristina jumped up and back when the door opened and revealed the man completely. She had no time to hide from him, his emerald eyes immediately fell upon her and she stared back at him with fear. He offered her a contemptuous smile and Kristina scrambled towards the closest bookcase to lean on.

"Ah, you must be the one and only Kristina Astrid-Leigh Magi," there was a tone of bitterness on his tongue as he spoke her name. "You must be our half-blood princess? Considering your cousin is the half-blood prince, it would only make sense. Your father a half-blood himself. Your mother a muggle-born..."

"Shut up about my parents," Kristina growled. "I already am familiar with my family history."

"And now you are of interest to the Ministry, as you are contracted by a demon," the man continued.

"I was not contracted by the demon!" Kristina cried. "I had nothing to do with it."

"A being who was given four x's on the danger scale," Crilli ignored her cry. "Miss Magi, do you know what that means?"

"Uhm...dangerous?" Kristina asked. "Does that mean it's dangerous? I mean..."

"It requires a specialist, too," Crilli told her. "Tell me, did Kthalas know anything about this demon? If he did, I will have to interrogate him. He should've registered you as a demon, or the contracted demon." Crilli approached Kristina.

"Leave my father alone!" Kris growled, stepping away from him but keeping eye contact. "I didn't even know about the bloody thing. What makes you think he would've known? No one I know has had anything to do with this damn thing."

"Perhaps he had something to do with this," Crilli suggested. "Perhaps he did it in your interest?"

"My father had nothing to do with this," Kristina snapped. "Leave my father alone, you bloody git."

"Kristina, that's enough," Professor Snape cautioned. "Mister Morgan Crilli here is simply trying to provoke an attack out of you or your demon. Don't pay him any mind, otherwise you will end up in more trouble."

"Am I already in trouble?" Kristina asked. "Because if I am, let me just say...that was not my fault. I don't control the demon. It has a mind of its own, of course..."

"Your demon's attempt at attacking on Halloween has called for some uhm... _careful_...examination," Crilli told her. "It is highly suggested that you are as dangerous as your demon."

"I had nothing to do with that," Kristina snapped. "Neither did my father. And there is no way I'm as dangerous as the demon."

"Kristina, I said that is enough," Professor Snape warned, taking her by her arm and pulling her aside. "And Mister Crilli, I would much appreciate it if you left my presence. Now, please." His patience was obviously wearing thin, by the expression on his face.

"Fine," Morgan Crilli grumbled. "I'll be back. Eventually. At some point."

"I look forward to it," Professor Snape uttered his snarky response.

Professor Snape kept a tight grip on Kristina until Morgan Crilli had left his sight. Then, he turned to her and handed her the jacket he was still carrying on his arm. Confused, Kristina looked at the jacket and then up at her uncle.

"Here, I found this last night," he told her. "It was mine...I grew out of it, though."

"Why don't you make it bigger?" Kris asked.

Professor Snape shrugged.

"I thought you'd like it," he told her. "I cast a charm on it, that way you will stay calm as long as you wear it. At least, that's the hope..."

Kristina gingerly took his jacket and put her arms through the sleeves. Awkwardly, she looked down and realized how big it was on her. Professor Snape realized this as well and he took out his wand and cast a spell to make it a bit smaller to match her frame and height.

"There," he muttered, tucking his wand back in his pocket and tugging on the jacket on her to make sure it was right. "Looks good on you."

"Thank you, Uncle Severus," she thanked.

He examined her carefully as he stood back up, "You know...I never quite noticed it before, but your hair flips out like mine. I suppose you are related to me."

Turning around, he gestured for Kristina to follow him.

"Let's go to Madam Pomfrey and have her perform the demon test on you," he suggested.

"So why are we doing this, again?" Kristina asked, beginning to follow her uncle. "I mean, I can't be turned into a demon." The expression on Professor Snape's face said otherwise. "...Right?"

"Considering your actions as of late, I believe this may be a good idea," Professor Snape told her.

"Wait, so demons can turn humans into a demon?" Kristina asked. Professor Snape gave an awkward nod in response and Kristina crossed her arms. "That's stupid. Why is that a thing?"

"I dunno," Professor Snape admitted. "As you and I have both found, demons are still not quite well-understood."

"Okay...then why would she do that?" Kristina wondered.

"Perhaps...so it would be easier to use you," Professor Snape hesitated. "That's the only logical explanation I can think of at the moment."

"So...what would that mean for me?" Kristina asked.

"Well..." Professor Snape looked up in thought. "You may be like that forever, and then there is also the unfortunate fact that the Ministry of Magic will be breathing down your neck, practically." After seeing Kristina's nervous expression, he added to lighten the mood, "On the plus side, you could have interesting abilities that could perhaps prove useful to you."

"Yeah, sure...with the Ministry on my ass about everything I do..." Kristina muttered, not finding the light at the end of the tunnel like her uncle did.

Professor Snape sighed, "It's not like I want that for you either. You're not the only one dreading that fact. Oh, my poor, poor, niece."

Kristina offered him a grudging glance, "Yeah. Thanks for your sympathy."

"I wasn't being sarcastic," he told her. "Why is it whenever I try to express sympathy it sounds sarcastic?"

"It's the way you speak," Kristina pointed out.

"Ah...very well then..." Professor Snape muttered.

Kristina sighed slid her hands into her pockets. Uncle Severus was right, she admitted. The jacket was very nice, and felt so warm. And that helped her a lot because it was freezing in the hallways as they walked towards the hospital wing.

"So, what are the abilities you noted most demons possess?" Professor Snape asked Kristina.

"Enhanced speed, strength, endurance, senses, soul sensing, transformation, fire control, manipulation, soul staining, body and soul manipulations, immortality, manifestation, and levitation," Kristina listed them off.

"So we're going to check your speed, strength, endurance, and your senses," Professor Snape told her. "Although, I already know about your senses. You have not been able to tolerate sound much the past month. And feeling..."

"I suppose my senses have been askew the past month," Kristina admitted. "I just haven't...really paid attention, have I?"

"No, you have not been paying attention..." Professor Snape agreed. "However, it's a good thing your Uncle Severus does."

Kristina nodded at him distantly, "I suppose so."

When they arrived at the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was waiting with her hands on her hips, almost impatiently.

"You two are late!" she squeaked.

"Yeah, well, I had a little bit of a problem," Professor Snape muttered. "Morgan Crilli, the director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, decided to pay me a little visit."

"Oh," Madam Pomfrey blinked in disbelief. "Really?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Professor Snape nodded. "He believes Kristina is...is a real demon."

"Well, I thought you wanted to run this test on her because you thought she was?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I wanted to see what the demon's done to her," Professor Snape pointed out.

"So what am I looking for?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Her speed, strength, and her endurance," Professor Snape started.

"He also suggested I may be a metamorphmagus?" Kristina asked.

"Oh honey, that is so very rare," Madam Pomfrey told her.

"But demons can turn into any animal and change their appearance on will," Kristina pointed out. "If she's affected me the way the Ministry thinks, wouldn't it make sense?"

"Let's...let's start with speed," Madam Pomfrey pointed towards the other side of the room. "Run there and back here. Severus, what am I looking for on this?"

"Enhanced speed," Professor Snape answered.

Kristina looked at the other side of the room.

"Okay..."

She shrugged and began running. However, she did not perform a regular sprint like she was expecting. Instead, her legs nearly took control, and she was back within mere seconds, and not even slightly out of breath!

"Okay...why is this going to be useful to me?" Kristina looked at the shocked expressions on Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey's faces. "Super speed was never an ability I wanted..."

"Strength," Professor Snape told her. "Go lift that bed. I know you have very little upper body strength."

"Oh Severus, what if she hurts herself?" Madam Pomfrey worried.

"If the demon converted her body, she's not going to hurt herself," Professor Snape pointed out. "In the one book we were looking at yesterday, it said that demons are supposed to have excellent strength. Not that it could ever prove useful to Kristina..."

Kristina looked at the bed and muttered to herself, "Maybe strength could come in handy." Uneasy, Kristina grabbed the bed and lifted it up a couple of inches. In realization, Kristina dropped it and crossed her arms in irritation, "Wait, this would not come in handy at all. This is what magic is for!"

"Okay, Severus..." Madam Pomfrey started. "I think the demon converted her. She should  _not_ be able to do that."

Professor Snape's heart broke at the realization that Madam Pomfrey was right. There was not a need to continue testing her. Professor Snape waved Kristina off and she sat down on the bed she just lifted, shaking from the sudden overwhelm of emotions she just felt from Professor Snape, which included his heart practically breaking. He did not want this for her at all because now things were going to be a lot more difficult.

Sure, there will be more obstacles in the coming weeks, however, Professor Snape had to remind himself that he could not allow them to take away Kristina's education. As long as he could subdue her demon, somehow, someway, or split it and kill it...then everything should be fine. He could not allow it to get out of hand.

"Yeah..." Professor Snape acknowledged with a distant look in his eyes. "Just to make it easier to control her...no." He shook his head. "No, no. There has to be more to that. It cannot just be for control."

"What?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I bet the demon has an agenda..." Professor Snape looked at her. "Convert her into something she was not before and now you're going to cause a whole problem in the Ministry. This includes her or her parents possibly getting into trouble. Making her a danger to the students...The demon wants to cause Kristina problems."

"But...why?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "There has to be a reason."

"I don't know..." Professor Snape answered. "Kristina—oh what the hell!"

Kristina was standing in front of a mirror, suddenly shifting her appearance. One minute, she was herself — small, thin, blue-eyed and brown-haired — and then the next minute she was tall, lanky, dark-eyed, and dark-haired. After she realized what she just did, she jumped back in horror and squeaked. Curiosity quickly took over her shock and she began touching her face and her hair. A soft face, and greasy hair. She was Professor Snape.

"Oh my gods!" she exclaimed. "I can change my appearance." She looked at Professor Snape, "Look Uncle Severus! I'm you!"

"Change back right this instant, Kristina!" he ordered.

"So am I a metamorphmagus?" Kristina asked as she shifted back. At first, dizziness washed over her. Eventually, however, her mind cleared and she looked at Professor Snape expecting his answer.

"Not precisely," Professor Snape answered softly, a swift change from his earlier demand. "No, they are born that way."

"So then what is it called?" Kristina asked.

"Not sure..." Professor Snape admitted.

"Well, whatever the term for it...THAT could come in handy," Kristina told him.

"Oh dear," Professor Snape grumbled. "Please do not change your appearance. You are beautiful as you are, my child."

"Oh but it'd be so funny coming into class as you while you're teaching!" Kristina grinned.

"Don't you dare..." Professor Snape warned. "You are not doing that. You will tell no one of this!"

"Fine..." Kristina grumbled.

"Do we need to perform any more tests?" Madam Pomfrey wondered. "I personally don't see any reason to do any more."

Professor Snape sighed heavily, he thought he had said that outloud earlier. With a shake of his head, he responded with, "No, I think I have my answer. Although, this is going to prove to be an interesting challenge, separating the demon from...our little demon."

"Well, that really sucks," Kristina muttered in defeat. "I'm a demon...great..."

"And don't go telling everybody about this, either!" Professor Snape warned. "Perhaps Miss Hartnell, but please nobody else. I will only share with the teachers."

"Yes sir..." Kristina nodded.

Professor Snape inclined his head at Madam Pomfrey, "Thank you for your help..."

"Not that I helped all that much, but you are welcome," Madam Pomfrey told him.

"Kristina, let's get you back to Ravenclaw before suppertime—" Professor Snape started. "Hey! I told you to stop doing that."

Kris was watching her hair grow dark but then she immediately changed it right back.

"Sorry," Kristina sighed heavily.

Professor Snape took her by her hand and led her out swiftly.

"I will write out the request to have you registered as a demon..." Professor Snape muttered under his breath. "And I will have to write to your father about this."

"Yes sir..." Kristina acknowledged his statements.

Silence fell between them for the next couple of moments as they passed through the hall so that Professor Snape could take her back up to the Ravenclaw tower.

"Uncle Severus, so is the Ministry going to start watching my every move?" Kristina asked.

"Possibly," Professor Snape told her. "I'm going to have to make a charm for the moment to keep those abilities locked away."

"Are you going to be able to turn me back into a human?" Kristina asked.

"I certainly hope I can, but I cannot make any promises," Professor Snape answered. "We'll see..."

"Right..." Kristina sighed.

x x x

Kristina told Erin everything the following day—she'd been too fatigued that night to tell her best friend much other than, "I'm screwed. I'm a demon, and now I've got the Ministry on my arse." After that, she drunk her sleeping potion and lied down, promising Erin she'd tell her more the next day. When she finally did tell, it was breaktime after their last class that day. They'd decided to spend some time outside underneath Kristina's favorite maple tree, which at this point was a brilliant red due to the autumn climate. When they were there, she went into full detail, starting with the conversation between the Ministry of Monsters head and her uncle, and then the test to see if she had been converted and how long that actually lasted.

Erin was horrified by this news. She managed to keep her cool, because that is what true friends would do: try to keep calm in this situation.

"Y-You've been converted into a demon?" Erin asked. "Why? What is her agenda?"

"I don't know," Kristina admitted. "Uncle Severus's theory is that it's so she can use me. But past that, I don't know."

Anxious, Kristina began pacing beside Erin, her new favorite jacket flowing around her. The wind kicked up and gusted against Kristina's backside.

"I can't believe this," Erin suddenly remarked. "How does this occur?"

"I don't know," Kristina responded, stopping and looking back at Erin. "But...it's true...I mean, Uncle Severus did not want to continue testing me afterwards because it was breaking his heart. No, he didn't really say that...but I could feel it."

"I mean, his niece is now going to have the Ministry of Magic on her about everything she does so it's not really much of a surprise," Erin shrugged. "He's worried about you, of course. Not really surprising."

"I know," Kristina agreed.

"So..." Erin started. "You can change your appearance? Like Nymphadora from Hufflepuff?"

"Sorta," Kristina shook her head. "She was born like that, I was converted into a demon whose abilities include transformation. In a way, yes. In a way, no not really. That make any sense?"

"Yeah," Erin nodded. "That makes sense."

"Great," Kristina sighed. "So, yeah...that was basically what happened yesterday."

"I'm so sorry, Kris," Erin apologized to her.

"Yeah...me too..." Kristina looked up at the sky. After an awkward silence following her words, Kristina added, "Let's get inside. It's about to rain."

Together, the two friends began trekking back into the castle that was Hogwarts, arms around each other. They exchanged amused glances as they walked. However, Kristina began feeling uneasy and a question formed in her mind.

"Erin, does this change your perspective of me?" Kristina asked. Wait, why was she asking this? Of course it does not change Erin's perspective of her! She knew this. However, she felt as if she had to ask this.

"No," Erin told her. "Why should it?"

"Doesn't it scare you?" Kristina wondered.

"No," Erin smiled. "Again, why should it?"

"You're not afraid of me losing it?" Kristina proded.

"No," Erin told her. "We're surrounded by the best wizards in the United Kingdom. Everything will be perfectly fine. Sure, there may be some issues here and there but that's not going to scare me away. In fact, I think you and I need each other now more than ever. Right?"

Kristina smiled awkwardly, "Yeah. I know I'm going to need you for sure. Thank you. You're a great friend, Erin."

"Back at ya," Erin flicked her fingers into the shape of a gun with the dorkiest grin on her face.

"Don't...you're surrounded by wizards who have no idea what that is..." Kristina told her.

"Uhm...right..." Erin's dark face grew bright pink from embarrassment.

"Oh...what would I do without you?" Kristina wondered under her breath. 


	7. Fallen Angel of the Half-Blood Princess

**Chapter Seven  
** _Fallen Angel of the Half-Blood Princess_

"So...about the comment you made about you being the 'half-blood princess', or at least that Crilli guy made," Erin started a couple of days later in Professor Moses's class. "Is that true? I thought your parents were pure blooded."

"No," Kristina shook her head. "Neither one is full-blooded. My mom is a muggle-born, my dad is half-blood. Actually, it's said that my mother's great-grandparents were squibs who married muggles, so the gene probably woke up in my mom. My biological grandfather, as I've recently found out, is a muggle, and my grandmother is a witch. My...Great-Uncle Tobias Snape was a muggle, born of a muggle family. However, my grandma is only half-related to Tobias. Her father was a wizard, but he passed when she was still a baby. So, Tobias and my grandmother's mother married a muggle, and that is how Tobias ended up as a muggle. If he'd been lucky enough, he may have been a wizard."

"So..." Erin started. "That's how Professor Snape is half-blooded. And that's how you are too. Man, and here I was only knowing that he was actually your cousin. None of the actual details. Dang."

"Yep," Kristina nodded.

"And that's why your grandmother never took on the surname of 'Snape'..." Erin realized. "Oh, that makes so much sense now!"

"Yeah..." Kristina nodded. "Basically found this out recently myself. I mean, I knew I was a half-blood, but still...Besides, purebloods are so rare. You really thought I was related to a bunch of pureblood supremacists?"

"Sorta," Erin offered an awkward laugh.

Kristina scoffed at her and smiled at her, "You're just silly, you know?"

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you're friends with me," Erin responded. Suddenly, her eyes were tracing something and she fell silent. After the silence fell, Kristina looked up and followed Erin's eyes. Soon, her gaze locked with Alex Northam's cold gaze and suddenly, she was uncomfortable. Alex stalked across in front of Kristina and Erin. Their venomous tentacula was sitting still, for the moment. Professor Moses was helping a couple of students with studying their venomous tentacula, and he was unaware of what Alex was doing.

"Shoot," Erin muttered, following the goth girl with her eyes. "What's she going to do?"

"I dunno," Kristina whispered back. "I'm feeling pretty damn nervous though."

What they could not see was that her wand was precariously pointed at their plant. Kristina and Erin both wanted Alex to go away out of anxiety, but neither girl was brave enough to open her mouth. Alex offered a disparaging smile to them. Both girls returned it with glares.

"This is what happens when you piss me off!" she suddenly exclaimed, causing their plant to move its vines and try to attack them.

Kristina was the first to shout a string of curse words at it and she and Erin both moved aside so they could perform a severing charm on it. Professor Moses, however, beat them to it and he severed its arms. His chestnut eyes darted from the plant, to Alex, to the girls. Suspicion crossed his face as he returned his gaze to Alex.

"Holy crud!" Erin exclaimed.

"Alex..." Professor Moses started. "What did you just do?"

"Nothing, Professor," Alex smirked. "Everything is just fine over here."

"Yeah?" Professor Moses asked. "Then why's your wand out, Alex?"

Before Alex could speak, Kristina stepped back towards her and Erin's table.

"You purposely tried to sabotage our plant," Kristina told her with the most serious voice. Alex laughed, causing Kristina's face to turn a bright scarlet in both embarrassment and fury. Despite this, she tried to keep her voice steady when she asked, "You think this is funny?"

"Maybe you are smarter than I thought!" Alex snickered.

Professor Moses got in between them and glared at Alex, pointing to where she was supposed to be sitting. Alex stood there with a smug look on her face, Kristina and Erin both felt their anxiety flare-up. However, both girls knew Professor Moses to be a fair teacher, so they knew he was not about to take Alex's side in this. Judging from the look on his face, he knew exactly who was in the wrong.

"I'm not having a fight in my greenhouse," he told her in a cold voice. "Get out of Kristina's face, leave her and Erin alone, and go do your work. You're already far behind in your assignments anyhow. If this was your O. W. L., you would've failed."

"Not like I want to be an herbalist," Alex sneered. "This isn't an important class to me."

"Well fine, get out of my greenhouse then," Professor Moses snapped. "Blimey!"

"Nah, where's the fun in that?" Alex wondered.

"Get. Out." Professor Moses, who usually was calm, collected, and laidback, looked like he was about ready to scream at her. Professor Moses rarely showed anger. If he was angry, he usually would sit and quietly stew. If he was upset with his students, generally he simply lectured them at them. However, with the way he was currently acting, the whole classroom knew he was serious.

"Oh, well fine then," Alex shrugged her shoulders. "Not like I care." She spun around on her heels and stalked out of Professor Moses's classroom.

Exasperated, he sighed and then turned to look at Kristina and Erin.

"Get back to work," he told them hotly, unable to regain his temper for the moment.

"Thank you, Professor," Kristina thanked in a quiet voice.

"Y-Yeah," Professor Moses struggled.

Almost everyone in the classroom fell silent, then exchanged uneasy glances. They had never seen Professor Moses on the verge of losing his patience. In fact, no one thought it was possible for that to happen. After collectively deciding not to push any more of Professor Moses's buttons, they all sat in silence and continued working until the end of class.

Just as class ended, he took out one of his cherry pops and placed it in his mouth to begin sucking on. When class dismissed, Kristina and Erin both walked up to Professor Moses with concern.

"Are you okay, Professor?" Erin asked in a cautious voice.

Professor Moses glanced to the side, pulling the sucker back out of his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he told her. "I've...been rather stressed out. Sorry. I didn't mean to be harsh with you two earlier...Don't you two worry about me, you've enough on your plates at the moment."

"We just wanted to make sure you're okay," Kristina told him.

"You kind of did scare us," Erin added.

Professor Moses stuck the sucker back in his mouth and nodded.

"Yeah," he reassured them. "I'm fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you two."

"It's fine," Kristina smiled. "See you later, then!"

"See ya, Professor!" Erin said.

"See you guys later!" Professor Moses smiled.

Their next class was Transfiguration. Sure, they should have been perfectly fine now that Alex knows Professor Moses is not playing around with students who were being rude and knowing Professor McGonagall to be much worse. However, that apparently was not stopping Alex. She sat at a table near them and talked with her friends about what happened in Professor Moses's class, and then she began a new round of teasing.

"Look at Kristina," Alex told them, pointing at her. "Even without the nose, she looks just like Professor Snape. Like...if he had a button for a nose."

"My nose isn't a button..." Kristina touched her nose gingerly.

"Just ignore them," Erin reminded gently.

"Can you believe she's related to him?" one girl, another Slytherin by the name of Alyssa Thamesford, asked. "I mean, look at her!"

"She kinda looks like him though," another kid pointed out.

"Well I'm pointing out her personality," Alyssa reminded. "I mean, seriously. She's just this...shy little nerd with a penchant for potion-making."

"But she's such a teacher's pet," Alex reminded. "Just because they have different personalities apparently means nothing! I don't know how he can stand her!"

Kristina worked on transfiguring her rabbit into a vase, but it failed miserably because her mind was fogged up by the taunting. The rabbit was turned into a frog and it began hopping around in confusion.

"Goddammit!" Kristina cursed as Alex and her group of girls laughed at her.

"Miss Magi, please control your tongue," Professor McGonagall gently reminded. "It's alright, you almost had it. I know you're stressed, just keep practicing."

"R-Right..." Kristina swallowed hard and McGonagall caught the frog to transfigure back into a rabbit.

However, when McGonagall walked away to examine other students, Kristina again struggled to get it right. Alex and her friends were still rambling about her, and it was still bugging her.

"She's the same way with Professor Moses, let's be honest," Alex said. "She's a teacher's pet for all of the teachers."

"I swear to goodness if she doesn't stop," Erin growled under her breath. "This is getting really annoying."

"I know," Kristina agreed.

"I'm about to pop her in the eye again," Erin hissed.

"Don't," Kristina told her. "I don't want you to go to detention again for me."

"It was well worth it, and it wasn't the worst thing ever to be fair," Erin admitted.

"Don't," Kristina told her.

"Well, I can't let you do anything," Erin reminded gently. "You remember what happened last time, right? And you fainted afterwards."

"I don't remember what happened afterwards," Kristina reminded. "I only know what you and Uncle Severus told me."

"Just please don't do anything that could summon the demon," Erin told her. "Try to ignore it. If you need to, later on you can go find Professor Snape and tell him what Alex is doing and he can punish her."

"Well...Professor McGonagall has a better chance of stopping her, to be honest..." Kristina admitted.

"I don't think anyone does, really," Erin grumbled. "Just figured it'd be best for Professor Snape to punish her since he's the head of house."

"Nah..." Kristina muttered.

"Oh my God, have you ever seen Kristina's confused face?" Alex realized suddenly, causing both Kristina and Erin to glance over in curiosity. "She just sits there and makes this...face..."

And Alex attempted to recreate it in the ugliest way possible.

"And she was sorted into Ravenclaw! To think  _she_ is a Ravenclaw! No way! She's too stupid to be a Ravenclaw. She should've been a Gryffindor, at least then she'd have an excuse to be so dumb." Alex and her girls giggled.

"Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it..." Erin whispered to Kris. "Please ignore it, Kris."

"Professor McGonagall!" Kristina stood up quickly, her heart beginning to race. Professor McGonagall immediately stood up to look at Kristina, and the whole class's eyes were now on her. Embarrassment flooded Kristina, and doubt flooded her mind, but she knew she had to try for the sake of her grade. "Would you be so kind as to tell Alex and her friends to stop talking, please? They are distracting me, and they are making fun of me and Erin."

"Oh goodness, please..." Erin put her face in her hands. "Don't let this get out of hand..."

"Miss Northam, have you been making fun of Miss Magi and Miss Hartnell?" McGonagall straightened up and offered the group a glare.

"N-No..." Alex stammered. "No, she's taking it out of context!"

"There is no taking it out of context, Alex," Kristina snapped and McGonagall waved a hand at Kristina to be quiet.

"Twenty points from Slytherin," Professor McGonagall told her. "And I will be discussing this with Professor Snape, who will determine your detention."

"What? I wasn't bullying her!" Alex exclaimed.

"You kinda were," muttered Douglas Caprio.

"Shut up, you filthy mudblood!" Alex exclaimed.

"Like you have any room to talk, really," Douglas retorted. "Born of muggles yourself. And yet you think it's cool to bully other people for not being purebloods? Hypocritical much? Sheesh."

"Alright, I think she gets the point," McGonagall sighed.

"You don't get to talk about my parents like that!" Alex exclaimed.

"Miss Northam—"

Kristina immediately reached for her wand to stop Alex from hurting Douglas. Not wanting Kristina to cause more issues, Erin slapped at Kristina's hand. She retaliated by dropping her wand.

"Don't," Erin warned gently.

"She's about to attack poor Douglas!" Kristina exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"I know but I don't want you to get into trouble for defending him," Erin told her, also hushed.

"I'm not gonna get into trouble," Kristina pointed out.

"No, but your demon will complicate things," Erin reminded.

"Ugh," Kristina muttered.

"Kristina is a stupid half-blood," Alex snapped. "And she's a demon. She has no right to be here. All she ever does is whine too. Like why would you accept her staying here? Aren't you a teacher?"

"Yes, and I'm doing my job of protecting my students," McGonagall snapped. "I'm protecting her and I'm protecting you guys. Now if you don't sit down I will send you straight to Professor Snape, interrupting his class. He will not be pleased with you."

"Oh no, me ticking off Snape?" Alex asked. "Whatever shall I do..."

"Wow someone's a bit ballsy," Kristina muttered.

"No crud," Erin agreed.

"You know what, Northam," McGonagall started and she quickly scribbled out a note. After finishing it, she gave it to Alex and pointed out of her classroom, "Out. Go to your Head of House and give him this note!"

"Oooh I'm so scared," Alex told her.

"My gods what is her problem?" Kristina bared her teeth.

"You're my problem," Alex told her as she stalked by.

"I hope you get expelled," Kris muttered as she left. "Bumbling fool."

"You do sound like Snape," Erin told her.

"Mm," Kristina shrugged. "I try."

"Oh dear," McGonagall shook her head. "The nerve of some children!"

"Mate," came Douglass. "I can't believe Alex had the balls to say any of that to you, Kris."

Kristina felt her chest tighten up, "I need a few minutes, Professor. May I be excused?"

"Certainly, Miss Magi," Professor McGonagall agreed.

Kristina stood up and left the class slowly. She did not want to startle any one, or cause any harm to herself by accident. Her chest already felt tight, she did not need that to get any worse.

"Shit," she cursed. "What's going on with me? This can't be another demon attack. You better not..."

Anxious, Kristina began clenching her hands into fists and she felt the sweat in the palms of her hands.

"Gross," she muttered. "I'm sweating and hot. What's going on..."

Looking around, she found the bathrooms and headed in there so she could calm down in solitude. She went into a stall and locked the door, sitting down on the floor to breathe.

"Goddess bless..." she muttered. "Stupid demon. I hate you. Why don't you leave me alone already?"

"Hey! You're in my bathroom!" came a shrill voice.

Kristina looked, "Huh? Oh, Moaning Myrtle..."

The ghost girl, wearing pigtails, examined Kristina.

"You're a Ravenclaw," she murmured. "And you're really pretty."

"Thanks, I suppose," Kristina blushed.

"You can stay," Moaning Myrtle told her. "You here to cry?"

"Er, not entirely," Kristina's mouth twitched.

"What brought you to my bathroom?" Myrtle asked, curious.

"I uhm...just needed to get away..." Kris muttered.

"Understandable," Myrtle agreed.

Kristina nodded distantly, wishing this stupid demon would leave. Her stomach grew queasy and she bit down on her bottom lip. This was not going well. At what point should she go see Uncle Severus? She could almost hear him demanding her to come see him now.

"Do you have a demon attached to you?" Myrtle asked.

"I...yeah..." Kristina nodded. "Why? You see it?"

"I can..." Myrtle nodded behind Kristina.

"Well that's great," Kristina's sarcasm was evident. "Sorry to cut this visit short, Myrtle, but I think I need to see my uncle Severus."

"I understand," Myrtle nodded.

Kristina forced herself back up onto her feet and unlocked the stall door.

"I hope you make it to your uncle all right," Myrtle hoped.

"Thanks," Kristina thanked, leaving the stall and heading out of the bathroom. As soon as she left, the warmth flooded her body and the nausea proceeded to get worse. "Ugh." She stumbled a little, mainly from her usual clumsiness, and she eventually got to her uncle's office, where he was standing and reading McGonagall's letter to him. Alex stood in front of him, hands on her hips.

"Tsk, tsk, Miss Northam," he clenched the letter and tossed it on his desk. "Really! What makes you think you have the right to bully Kristina? Bloody abyss, child."

"And yet you're always bullying other students," Alex pointed out. After Professor Snape bared his teeth in frustration, Alex continued after she noticed she hit a nerve. "What are  _you_  going to do about my behavior, Professor?"

"I'm going to give you detention," Professor Snape snapped with impatience.

"But it's okay for you to bully other students?" Alex asked.

"I don't  _bully_ , Northam. I teach them to take a joke, unlike you who outright bullies Kristina," Snape replied.

"Whatever," Alex sneered. "You're such a shit teacher."

"Another week of detention, Northam," Snape responded. "I can keep going."

"Ooh I'm so scared," Alex put her hands up to her face.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Office," Snape snapped in irritation. "And don't you dare come back."

Alex shrugged and turned around. Her face lit up when she saw Kristina and she smirked. Before Kristina could move Alex quickly brushed past her, purposely knocking right into her shoulder and knocking Kristina back some.

"Ouch!" Kristina squeaked.

"Oh, excuse  _you_ ," Alex snapped.

"Oh go kiss your bitch's ass," Kristina snapped. "I'm not in the mood."

"Oh,  _why_? Did my words hurt your wittle feewings?" Alex mocked.

"Bugger off," Kristina snapped, starting to shake from a sudden adrenaline rush.

"Oh! Wait, it's your demon! I see, your eyes show it," Alex gestured at her eyes.

"Piss off," Kristina reiterated. "Or I swear to fricking Odin..."

"Kristina, that is enough," she heard Professor Snape say.

"There should be a rule at school stating under no circumstances should there ever be a demon, and as soon as one is found they should be expelled," Alex sneered at Snape.

"What did I tell you, Northam!" Snape snapped. "GO!"

"Fine, fine, whatever," Alex shrugged at Professor Snape and stalked off.

"My god," Professor Snape growled. "Where do we get some of these snots from?"

Kristina was still shaking from the adrenaline, her mind clouded with anger and anxiety, "D-Dunno, S-Severus..."

"My dear...are you okay?" he asked her gently.

"Not particularly," Kristina responded.

"Whatever she said about you is not true in the slightest," Professor Snape reminded.

"She is such a bitch!" Kristina screamed out with tears in her eyes. Then, she gave a frustrated cry, "Argh! Bloody imbecile!"

Professor Snape flinched a little at the volume of her voice and sighed.

"I'm sorry," he apologized gently.

"She said I shouldn't be a Ravenclaw! That I should've been sorted into Hufflepuff! I'm not a Hufflepuff, I'm a Ravenclaw! How fucking  _dare_  she!" Kristina's voice was shrill with anger.

"I..." Professor Snape stopped when Kristina opened her mouth again.

"Sh-She—She tried to get our plant to hurt us in Professor Moses's class!" Kristina exclaimed, starting to cry. "Then she fucking  _laughed_  about it. And then they picked on my looks! A-And—ARGH I HATE HER SO FUCKING MUCH SEVERUS!"

"I know you do," Professor Snape started calmly.

"I want her to stop!" Kristina cried.

"I know..." Professor Snape agreed. "I do too."

"I'm so bloody pissed!" Kristina exclaimed.

Professor Snape chose not to make any sort of comment on that. He knew anything he said about that would worsen her anger.

"I wish she'd just lie down and die!"

"Now now, Krist—" Professor Snape paused. Wait, no he could not say that. He thought the same things with his bullies. "Erm..."

"Fuck!" Kristina hiccupped, grabbing Professor Snape and embracing him. After that, she fell into a silent sob. Glancing around, he sighed and placed his arms around her and held her in comfort. Although her sobs were silent, her attempts at breathing were not as she struggled to catch her breath. Underneath his hands, he felt something soft and when he looked, he saw those same black wings he saw a few weeks ago. The realization that this was serious hit him hard. "I-I hate her so much...I want her to stop, Uncle Severus," Kristina whimpered.

"Dearest child, I need you to calm down," Professor Snape told her.

Kristina hiccupped again and clutched his jacket, "I don't feel so good."

"You need to calm down," Professor Snape urged.

Kristina let go and put the back of her hand up to her mouth, fighting the nausea.

"Oh dear me..." Professor Snape sighed.

"Mh..." Kristina swallowed hard.

"Sh..." Professor Snape shushed her. "Calm down, my child."

"Mm..."

"Sh..." Professor Snape gently stroked her face with the back of his hand. "Calm down, Kristina. You can't afford to let the demon take control again. If she escapes again, you will faint and miss more class. And you will be in trouble with the ministry. Can't have that, now can you?"

His voice was soothing Kristina slowly. After forcing herself to take in deep breaths, she soon calmed down and was able to breathe normally again. Professor Snape took a step back to examine Kristina. The feathered ebony wings were still there, and her eyes still crimson and teary. Her face was red and wet from crying, and little did he know her face felt numb from the crying. Her hair was slightly curled like it was damp. Anxiously, she wiped at her eyes as more tears filled them again. Her demeanor and current, disheveled appearance made her appear as some sort of fallen angel. Perhaps that's what she was, Professor Snape mused. At this stage of the game, anyway.

"I don't feel good, Uncle Severus," she told him after a few moments.

"I know you don't," he told her. "Come, I'll take you to Madam Pomfrey and she'll give you a freshly brewed potion to soothe your stomach."

"You don't have one?" Kristina asked.

"Unfortunately, no," he put his hand on her shoulder and led her to the nurse.

"Don't you have class right now?" Kristina asked.

"I do...but they're fine for the moment," Professor Snape told her. "They just started. Much like your Transfiguration class just started."

"Okay..."

He quickly escorted her to the hospital wing just around the corner.

"I-I'm sorry," Kristina apologized.

"No, no need to apologize my dear," Professor Snape assured her. "It's bad to hold it in, I'm glad you vented it."

He opened the door to the hospital wing and led her inside.

"Alright, just...just sit down...and I've got to return to my class," he told her.

Kristina sat down on the bed and nodded, "Thank you, Uncle Severus."

"Of course, my child," he responded. "Love you..."

"Love you too..." Kristina sighed and watched him turn around and swiftly stalk out of the hospital wing.


	8. That Just Happened

**Chapter Eight:  
** _That Just Happened_

"Argh!" Kristina groaned later that day to Erin. "Alex is trying  _so_ damn hard to ruin me!"

"I wish I understood why," Erin admitted.

"How do you think I feel?" Kris asked. "Blessed goddess, Lord Odin almighty! UGH. Every time I think about it, I want to cry."

"Just be glad that Professor Snape can see right through Alex," Erin told her.

"Yeah," Kristina agreed. "I mean...Usually he'd defend anyone in his House but...I dunno. I think he hates Alex."

"Pretty sure he hates anyone who dares to make fun of you," Erin added.

"Man...if I never grew up with his presence, he'd never have liked me..." Kristina sighed.

"Dunno, he likes your brand of crazy," Erin tried to humor Kristina.

"I mean..." Kristina plopped down on her bed. "Goddess bless...I can't believe...ugh...It's so infuriating!"

Erin placed her hands on her hips and looked down, "I know...Look, I'm sorry. I just don't know what to tell you. You've heard just about everything in the book at this point, I'm willing to bet..."

"You could say  _that_ again," Kristina rolled her eyes. "I wish I can make this pain go away."

Kristina lied down on her bed and stretched out her arms, staring up at the ceiling. The effects of the calming draught Madam Pomfrey were strengthening, however, it was not helping her frustration and anger. Tears flooded her eyes again but she made no sound this time. She was like this for a couple of moments before she spoke again.

"What a shit day," she muttered, glaring at the ceiling now. "Stupid bloody piece of filth demon. Stupid bloody piece of cunt shit Alex...I hate her  _so_  much. I hate her! I hate this bloody demon too!"

Erin sat down beside Kristina and thought for a little bit. The girls sat in silence until Erin came up with a solution. As she stood up, she walked over to their bookcase and pulled out the radio they kept there and Erin turned it on to their favorite station:  _The Comedic Wizard_. After turning it on, she sat back down with Kristina and they listened to Stephen Cromwell's segment for the day.

"How's this?" Erin asked softly.

Kristina did not make an effort to respond. Not even a shrug. Instead, she sat still and simply listened to the segment.

"Hey there everybody, I am your host Stephen Cromwell, and TONIGHT we are going to do something a bit different," Stephen Cromwell started. "Anyone a fan of the  _Daily Prophet_?"

There were some murmurs coming from the audience.

"Well, last month they published an article by Rita Skeeter about this young lady at Hogwarts—anyone familiar with the school?" There was a roar of praise from the audience. After it died down, the girls could hear Stephen chuckling at that response. "I was not expecting that response. That was great! Anyhow. It was supposed to be about the case of Desari Whitney, the girl who, two years ago, cast two unforgivable curses on her younger cousin. However, the article went from talking about the trial to talking about how Kristina Magi, the cousin of Desari, was a demon and that Desari was trying to defend herself—"

"Erin, turn it off," Kristina told her, but Erin shushed her, obviously intrigued.

"You know he's going to have problems to talk about with the article," Erin reminded.

"Right..." Kristina sighed.

"I have SO many problems with this article," Stephen suddenly said after a couple of moments of 'oohs' in the audience. "Number one, it's slander. Number two, if that was true, why was this not known at the time of the incident? Three, it really smells fishy and I don't like it." Chuckles of amusement rose from the audience. Even his musician, Jon Bertrand, was chuckling at the last comment. "Oh, thank you, I didn't realize how funny that was until I said it." He chuckled. "Now, uhm. No but I'm serious about it smelling fishy. I mean, come on. If this was true 2 years ago, why did it only come up now? This is way too serious to have held back. Am I right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got you," Jon Bertrand agreed with Stephen.

"Seriously," Stephen started. "What if this happened recently? The demon, I mean. And I doubt Miss Magi would have wanted a demon. Come on, you read the article. She's a smart girl! No. From what I understand of this situation, there's a fishy scheme going on. SO! I challenge you, Rita Skeeter, or the Daily Prophet, to do some  _actual_  research on this subject. Find out what really happened. Or, better yet. Kristina Magi, I want you to come to Hogsmeade next time you go for an interview with me, Stephen Cromwell. And we'll get your story out."

Kristina sat up so fast, she made herself dizzy. As soon as she recovered, she looked at Erin wide-eyed and the girls just sat in silence.

"Holy shit!" Kristina squeaked. "Stephen Cromwell wants an interview with  _me_?"

"Oh my goodness," Erin blinked in disbelief.

"I know!" Kristina exclaimed.

"We go again next Saturday!" Erin exclaimed. "The last one before Christmas break."

"Great!" Kristina nodded. After a few moments, her face dimmed. "What if it worsens things, Erin?"

"What do you mean?" Erin asked.

"I mean, what if it scares more parents?" Kristina asked. "I take my notes there, tell Stephen about the demon, mention that it's converted me, and tell them the whole story..."

"That may help change people's opinions of you," Erin pointed out.

"But what if something happens between now and then?" Kristina asked.

"We'll figure out how to deal with it when it happens," Erin reminded gently.

"Erin, the demon almost came back out today," Kristina told her. "Severus kinda...stopped it."

"I know..." Erin sighed. "Look, Kris. Stop worrying about it...I know, it's easier said than done. Just...maybe if you don't think about it, it won't happen."

"The gods have a funny way with that..." Kristina admitted.

"I know they do," Erin nodded.

"Alright, I suppose..." Kristina sighed. "I'll talk to Uncle Severus about it tomorrow and get his opinion."

"Do you want to stay up later?" Erin asked.

"No...I'm exhausted..." Kristina admitted. "I feel like the demon sapped out most of my energy today..."

"I get that..." Erin sighed heavily. "Right, well. An early bedtime isn't a half-bad idea, Kris."

"Yeah," Kris nodded.

Erin turned off the radio and looked down.

"Are you going to be fine sleeping tonight?" she worried.

"Yeah," Kristina nodded. "I think."

"Right, well...good night," Erin stood up and replaced the radio onto their bookcase. Then, she turned to her bed and hopped in.

"Night, Erin," Kristina pulled her legs up onto her bed and pulled the covers over herself.

xxx

It was the middle of the night. Kristina was fast asleep, curled up in a tight ball on her bed. All was well, up until the moment Erin woke with a start. At first, she could not figure out what woke her up. It was not the dream she had, no, she was used to those at this point in her life. After thinking about it and listening for strange sounds, Erin came to the realization that Kristina was thrashing about in her bed, and that she had knocked over something in her sleep. Quickly, Erin grabbed her wand and cast  _lumos_  and she found Kristina's glass of water on the ground and saw Kristina moving chaotically.

"Kris! Shoot," Erin exclaimed, scrambling out of bed to attempt to wake Kristina up. "Kris! Kris! Kris! It's me, Erin!"

"Stop!" Kristina cried.

"Shoot!" Erin exclaimed. "Wake up! Wake up!"

"No!" Kristina screamed, but she was clearly not awake. "Leave me alone! Leave me alone!"

"Oh my goodness," Erin pinned Kristina's shoulders to her bed. "Stop, Kris! You're going to hurt yourself! And wake  _everyone_  up!"

Although, at that point it was too late. Erin could hear faint murmurs coming from the neighboring room. Anxious, Erin kept trying to wake up Kristina. She shook her shoulders but still was not getting a response. "Oh for the love of heaven. Oh! Ew! You're sweating. Gross."

There were footsteps approaching their room at a fast pace. And they knew it was their room, because they were in the last room and the footsteps were not slowing down any time soon. Kristina was still screaming and struggling, while Erin was attempting to get her temperature.

"Kris! Stop! Stop! Stop! You're fine! You're fine!"

Suddenly, there was a knock at their door and then the door opened slowly. When Erin glanced, she saw Professor Flitwick standing in the doorway with a few curious students behind them. Erin wiped the sweat off from Kristina's face with her blanket and felt for her temperature. Kristina groaned in pain but Erin was not quite sure what she hurt.

"What seems to be the problem?" came Professor Flitwick's groggy voice as he stifled a yawn.

"Professor," Erin started, trying to calm Kristina. "I think Kris is sick o-or her demon is trying to break through. I can't tell."

"We should get her to Madam Pomfrey, then," Professor Flitwick nodded. Then, he turned around to look at her and then saw the other students. "And please, everybody, return to your rooms and go back to sleep. A restful sleep will help you lot a bunch!"

"Ugh," Erin kept pressure on Kristina's shoulder. "Wake up! My goodness!"

"Miss Hartnell, if you would please step aside," Professor Flitwick told her gently, walking up to her. "I will take care of this."

"R...Right..." Erin let go of Kristina and stepped back towards her bed. Professor Flitwick approached Kristina and he cast a spell to calm down Kristina. Erin watched, shifting her feet with anxiety, but soon Kristina stopped thrashing about and was forced into a stiff position, and then she relaxed. From the light that was emitted from Flitwick and Erin's wands, they could see her face was broken and caved in a little, like someone slammed her face into concrete. Erin and Professor Flitwick looked at each other, perplexed. "Professor...her face..."

"I don't know what to say, Miss Hartnell," Professor Flitwick was bewildered himself.

"What's wrong with her?" a couple of voices began exchanging concern.

"Is she gonna be okay?" a few others wondered.

"Kristina," started Professor Flitwick in a gentle voice. "Are you awake?"

Kristina moved her head to the side and she weakly moved her lips like she was trying to speak. For her, speaking was almost impossible. Finding her voice, or words to say, was just as difficult a task. There was simply no way to express herself.

"Oh dear, the poor lass," Professor Flitwick gestured for Erin to come help him. "Miss Hartnell, would you mind helping me get her to Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yeah, uh...Sure, I can do that," Erin nodded.

"And afterwards, I will need you to go to the Slytherin dungeon and alert Professor Snape," Flitwick added.

"Er, how do I do that?" Erin asked, walking over and grabbing Kristina to pull to her feet.

"There is a portrait to the Slytherin entrance. You could ask him to bring the news to Professor Snape, or if you run into the Bloody Baron there is also asking him," Professor Flitwick kindly answered.

"Oh that makes sense," Erin stood Kristina up on her feet and got under her arm. Kristina screamed again in agony. "Shoot! What did I just do?

"I don't know," Professor Flitwick admitted. "Although...I see a bone peeking out of her arm."

"Oh my goodness!" Erin felt herself panicking.

"Now now, Miss Hartnell," Flitwick tried to soothe her. "No need to panic. Madam Pomfrey will get this all sorted out and Miss Magi will be good as new tomorrow!"

"I sure hope so," Erin muttered tartly.

"Come now, we must hurry!" Professor Flitwick advised, leading Erin out of the room.

"Right, right..." Erin flustered and began dragging Kristina along to get to the hospital wing.

x x x

To be in a dream that cannot be woken up from was one thing that scared Kristina most. To be in that dream with her demon, well that just made things worse. Stuck in what seemed to be a never-ending standoff between good and evil. The demon was different from what Kristina expected. The way her Uncle Severus had described her, she expected the demon to be some feather-y creature. Instead, she was a tall, slender female with long, silky, black hair, and crimson eyes. Indeed, she did have the expansive, black, feathery wings he mentioned.

Scorn crossed Kristina's face as she realized that this was her demon. However, the demon was rather amused that Kristina was now realizing what she was in.

"Who are you?" Kristina demanded.

"Me?" The demon laughed. "I suppose if I have no other choice, the name's Victoria Clyde."

"So you're the damn demoness that has haunted me for the past month," Kristina commented.

"Past two years, actually," Victoria responded.

"The past two years?" Kristina asked. "And you're choosing now to come out?"

"Why yes, funny you should mention that..." Victoria started.

"Why?" Kristina asked.

"You're going to have to fight me for the answer," Victoria smirked.

"Seriously?" Kristina muttered. "Why? Why any of this?"

"It's all in fun," Victoria sneered.

"Oh, really?" Kristina asked. "For who? Because I can tell you it's not fun for me."

"Obviously for me," Victoria smiled.

"Ob...viously..." Kristina kept her face straight and voice monotone, which made Victoria burst out with laughter.

"You  _are_  related to Snake aren't you?" Victoria slapped at her knee. "Oh my Lucifer. SO priceless."

"Snape, and what's  _so_  funny about that?" Kristina raised an eyebrow.

"It's funny, because you try so hard to be him!" Victoria laughed. "But all you'll ever be is a pathetic excuse for a Ravenclaw. This tiny little girl that everyone is afraid of. And it's all because of me."

"Stop it," Kristina demanded.

"Or else what?" Victoria sneered at Kristina.

Kristina grabbed at her cloak but there was no wand. Looking at her hands, she decided to use those instead. Lunging herself at Victoria, Kristina aimed for a punch, however, Victoria stopped her by grabbing onto her hand and then flipping her over onto her side and throwing her into the ground. A shriek of pain came from Kristina and she gagged.

"You...!"

Victoria knelt down and placed her hand on the back of Kristina's head, "Yes?"

"Goddess..." Kristina could not say what she wanted to.

Victoria pulled Kristina up by her hair and threw her into the nearest wall, "You are weak without me, Magi."

"You...lie," Kristina struggled.

"Why don't you be a good little vessel and stop questioning me!" Victoria smashed her face into the ground.

"Slam...my...face...down..." Kristina struggled. "One m-more...time..."

"Gladly!" Victoria did it again.

x x x

Taking Kristina to the nurse was the easier task. Trying to make sure Professor Snape was informed of what has happened with Kristina was not the easiest task, however. Erin spent a good fifteen minutes outside the Slytherin common room, arguing with the portrait. Erin had her hands on her hips, glaring at the portrait. The portrait was scowling back at Erin as it sneered and made crude remarks in her general direction.

"No, seriously, Professor Flitwick told me to tell you to tell Professor Snape—"

"I'm not waking up our Head of House for this," the portrait sneered.

"UGH!" Erin threw her arms up in frustration. "It is too late at night to be arguing with a darn portrait. Seriously. Spare me the excuses and tell Professor Snape—"

The door opened, but it was not from the portrait. Behind the door was a groggy and irritated Professor Snape, rubbing at his eyes. He was hardly dressed like normal, wearing a black robe over a pair of pants and a loose t-shirt and a pair of loafers he threw on. Judging by the annoyed expression on his face, he just literally just woke up.

"What in the bloody hell is going on out here!" he exclaimed and then he realized who was at the door. "Miss Hartnell? What on earth are you doing here late at night? Without an adult, mind you. Ten points—"

"No, no!" Erin exclaimed. "Professor, it's urgent!"

Professor Snape stopped but his irritation did not fade, "How so, Hartnell?"

"It's about Kristina," Erin answered. "She's been hurt! I think she's sick, too!"

Professor Snape's eyes widened and he stared at Erin for a few frightened seconds. After a tense silence, he looked down awkwardly and then back up at Erin.

"Is she okay?" he asked dryly.

"Madam Pomfrey has her completely sedated right now," Erin answered.

"What happened?" Professor Snape demanded.

"I...I still don't know," Erin admitted. "Just...Kristina was thrashing about in bed and screaming. Madam Pomfrey says one of her arms is broke somehow, her face looked like it was smashed a bit, and she's got a really bad fever. She's stuck in some sort of...I don't know. But, she's being transported to St. Mungo's right now. Professor...I...I don't know, but I think it has something to do with her demon. That's the only logical explanation I can come up with for the fact that she has a broken arm, a broken face, and a high fever."

Professor Snape cursed, "I will be there as soon as I possibly can. I need to...properly get dressed."

"Yeah..." Erin agreed awkwardly.

"What? It's not like I'm naked, child!" Professor Snape snapped at her. "Just...less clothing than usual."

"Yeah..." Erin turned around.

"You returning to Ravenclaw?" Professor Snape asked.

"Yeah," Erin nodded.

"Is there anything I need to bring for her?" Professor Snape asked.

"No, just yourself," Erin told him.

"Right, thank you," Professor Snape slammed the door shut and Erin caught a glimpse of a scowling painting. Rolling her eyes at it, she took off back to Ravenclaw tower.

Frenzied, Professor Snape rushed back to his room and threw on his day clothes. He did not care how he looked, he just needed something decent to wear. Buttoning up his jacket, he mis-buttoned it and did not dare to waste time to fix it. Shaking, he grabbed his wand, shoved it into his jacket. Without wasting another second, he rushed back out and headed to the fireplace in the Slytherin common room to use the floo powder.  _Just speak clearly, Severus, and you'll get there_ , he thought.  _Don't screw up. You cannot afford to waste time trying to get to Kristina._

After throwing a dash inside, he nearly yelled, "St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries!"

So much for not being calm, he mused. However, stepping inside the fireplace and reappearing at the hospital assured him that he spoke clearly enough. Breathing a sigh of relief, he began his search.


	9. Not Giving Up

**Chapter Nine:  
** _Not Giving Up_

Professor Snape navigated the long halls until he could find Kristina's room. Walking up to the door to her room—which had a big sign saying, "Kristina A. Magi. Healer: Ayden Gaia"—were two healers. One was a man with golden brown hair, close-cropped, with a mustache and goatee, and bright blue eyes. The other was a young woman, hardly taller than Kristina herself, with her dark chocolate hair pulled back in a long ponytail and wearing a Gryffindor pendant. Judging by their appearances, they were Kristina's healers. Judging books by their covers, the tall one would have to be Ayden Gaia and the short one his apprentice, who was not named. They both immediately caught sight of him and they met him at Kristina's room, looking awfully confused about the strange man.

"How is Kristina?" Professor Snape asked anxiously.

"You're not Kthalas Magi, are you?" Ayden asked, dubious.

"No, I am her cousin," Professor Snape admitted. "I'm Severus Snape."

"Ohhh," the woman nodded. "She's been muttering your name. Never heard someone say someone's name so many times."

"We've been trying to get ahold of her parents," Ayden told Severus, ignoring his assistant. "You know them well, right?"

"How are you not getting ahold of them?" Professor Snape anxiously asked. "Did you lot try the fireplace in her mother's room?"

"Yeah, and she wasn't there," the woman answered him.

"And not downstairs?" Professor Snape raised an eyebrow.

"No sir," the woman shook her head. "Not in her room or downstairs."

"That's strange..." Professor Snape muttered. "Is Kthalas at work?"

"We've already tried his office in the Ministry," Ayden told him.

"Not at work, not at home...they can't be on a date, not this late at night," Professor Snape muttered. "No, both of them should be in bed. Kthalas cannot stay up late, and Angelina has a strange sleep cycle anyhow."

"Do you know where they could be?" Ayden asked.

"No, I really do not," Professor Snape admitted.

"Well, even though you're a Hogwarts professor, someone needs to be here for Miss Magi so," Ayden nodded his approval for Professor Snape. "Certainly Dumbledore would make an exception for you."

"Certainly, he would," Professor Snape hated how Dumbledore made exceptions, however, they did come in handy on occasion for him. Especially with his relationship with Kristina. "So tell me. Is there a diagnosis as to what is wrong with Kristina?"

"Other than the obvious she's got a demon attached to her?" Ayden asked, trying to be humorous.

Professor Snape glared and the healer sighed.

"Right, uhm well no not exactly," Ayden looked to his assistant. "Have you any ideas, Stephanie?"

"Not particularly," Stephanie Wong shook her head. "I mean, it happened in her sleep, right?"

"From what her friend said, yes," Professor Snape nodded.

"Yes," Ayden nodded. After a couple of moments, the healer's face turned red as he realized he forgot to allow Professor Snape in. "My most sincere apologies, Professor. Where are my manners? Please, come into her room. You must be fatigued from being up this late at night."

Ayden opened the door to her room and gestured for Professor Snape to go in.

"Thank you," Professor Snape thanked, walking into the room. Kristina, somehow, was lucky enough to have a room to herself. At least, for now.

"So, Professor," Ayden started as Professor Snape pulled a chair over and sat down by his niece.

Professor Snape leaned over and began stroking Kristina's hair and brushing it out of her face and behind her ears. He whispered, "Bloody demon...I swear if she had anything to do with this I will personally split her from you, however I do it, and I will kill her."

"How long has this demon been with her?" Ayden asked.

"We're not sure," Professor Snape admitted, straightening his posture and glancing at the healer. "At least a month, if not longer. Long enough to apparently perform demonic conversion on her. Dunno for certain, as when we had the Metatron a few months ago...she was reacting to him in a strange manner."

"The Metatron?" Ayden asked.

"Voice of God," Professor Snape clarified. "An angel, if you will. Every time she touched him, she...I don't know...It never happened to any of us."

"Well, certainly that could be an indication that the demon has attached itself to Kristina earlier than we expected," the healer agreed.

"I believe so," Professor Snape concurred.

"Well..." Ayden looked around.

Professor Snape ran the back of his fingers on Kristina's cheek and whispered to her, "Kristina, I'm here..."

"Is there someone who'll take over your classes tomorrow? Maybe even Friday?" Stephanie asked. "Miss Magi may be here for a couple of days, sir. Maybe. We haven't figured that out quite yet."

"Well..." Professor Snape nodded. "Meriwether Moses is a great potions master himself, I believe he will take over for my classes."

"As long as someone can take over for you," Ayden nodded.

"Oh, there will be someone there in Potions for me..." Professor Snape promised.

"Well..." Ayden watched Stephanie checking Kristina's vitals. "We needed to check on her before we decided on a potion to wake her up. What's her stats?"

"High heartbeat, feverish, and shallow breathing," Stephanie told him.

"I know just the potion for that," Ayden nodded. "Well, come, Steph. We will need a few hours. Can't let her stay like this for too long."

"Of course, sir," Stephanie inclined her head and smiled. "Professor, would you like a glass of water?"

"Sure," Professor Snape sighed. "Thank you very much."

"Of course," Stephanie nodded. "Mister Gaia, may I retrieve some water for Professor Snape?"

"Sure," Ayden nodded. "Make it quick, I'm going to get the potion started."

"Right," Stephanie nodded and rushed out of the room to retrieve Professor Snape some water.

x x x

The next day in their potions class, Erin walked in and saw Professor Meriwether Moses standing in the middle of the room, looking confused. It was strange to see him there, but she realized that he was taking over for Professor Snape while he was at the hospital with Kristina. Quietly, she made eye contact with him and they nodded at each other. Without a word, Erin sat down at her and Kristina's table and waited for Professor Moses to begin class.

"Good morning everybody, I hope you are all well," he started suddenly.

"Professor Moses, where's Professor Snape?" Douglass Caprio asked.

"I hope he got into trouble," Alex sneered at the other table.

Professor Snape saw Alex and quickly pointed out the door, "You are not staying in this class, Northam. Out."

"Fine," Alex shrugged, got up, and left.

After that, Professor Moses returned his attention to his students and smiled nervously.

"Unfortunately, there was an incident last night with Kristina and he is currently at St. Mungo's with her," he answered Douglass. "I've been informed that they need him because they can't get ahold of her parents."

"Why can't they get ahold of her parents?" Erin asked. This was news to her.

"No one is sure," Professor Moses furrowed his eyebrows. "Theory suggests that they were taken to the Ministry for questioning regarding Kristina, but that hasn't been confirmed yet. Either which way, I am personally worried about this. It's odd that her parents weren't home."

"That highly makes me suspicious about the Ministry," Erin commented. "I wonder if they did this on purpose."

"I'd say it's a coincidence, but I don't believe in such a silly notion," Professor Moses grinned. "I may believe in other silly notions, but not that one!"

"Understandable," Erin nodded.

Her fellow Ravenclaws and even a couple of Slytherin murmured in agreement. Erin glanced to the side at Douglass Caprio and Oliver Hammond and saw them both nodding in agreement. Oliver looked around and then at Erin, looking rather anxious.

"I hope she's okay," Oliver worried.

"I hope so too, Ollie," Erin agreed. "I hope so too."

"What happened?" Douglass asked as they began working on their new potion.

"I...I'm still not sure exactly what happened," Erin admitted. "Just...I was asleep, I woke up and heard something being knocked off. I cast 'lumos' and I see Kristina thrashing about in her bed. She had a few broken bones, and I don't know where they came from."

"D...Do you think it was that demon?" Oliver asked.

"I think it was," Erin agreed.

"Man, if I could I'd beat up that demon myself," Oliver muttered. "Stupid cunt."

"That's how I feel," Erin admitted.

x x x

Waking up after less than four hours of sleep for Professor Snape certainly made it hard to not fall asleep sitting up in a chair. He held her hand the entire night, hoping she would wake back up. He could not bear the thought of her not being awake for awhile. Even with the anxious thoughts, he was still able to go to sleep sitting up, holding her hand. It was certainly an interesting sight to behold for the healers the first time they came in to check on Kristina. Healer Ayden watched Professor Snape, feeling rather uncomfortable himself. How in the world could he sleep like that? He and Stephanie both exchanged concerned glances.

"Should we let him sleep like that?" Ayden asked.

"Would they allow us to let him have the other bed?" Stephanie wondered.

"Probably not..." Ayden muttered.

"Well, I sure hope he doesn't feel sore when he wakes up!" Stephanie giggled quietly.

"There's a potion for that," Ayden reminded.

"Again, I hope he doesn't feel sore when he wakes up!" Stephanie repeated.

"You are strange, Steph," Ayden muttered.

"Only for you," Stephanie teased.

"Oh you are just the cutest little bugger aren't you?" Ayden stuck his tongue out. "Alright, well...check Kristina, Stephanie. Give me her vitals and we'll determine what should be added to the potion, eh?"

"Right you are!" Stephanie nodded and rushed over to Kristina to check her vitals.

x x x

Stephanie Wong walked in while he was sleeping late the next day. Professor Snape had finally hunched over and laid his head on the side of her bed and was fast asleep like that. In her hands she had a vial of a potent waking potion that would wake Kristina up. She examined him, remembering the little boy he was almost fifteen years prior. Was this really the same boy she knew then? So Severus  _did_ have a heart, she realized. And not just for her friend, Lily Evans.

"Severus," she murmured. "What happened to you, hun?"

Crouching down on the other side of Kristina, Stephanie cradled Kristina's head in the crook of her elbow and pried open Kristina's mouth. Kristina remained unconscious, however, because of natural reflexes when Stephanie began pouring the potion into her mouth, she swallowed it. Thank you, biology! For a couple of moments, there was nothing except the sound of Kristina breathing. She remained motionless. Stephanie placed her hands on her hips, worried.

"Kristina, why aren't you waking up?" she wondered aloud.

However, Kristina was slowly waking up, contrary to Stephanie's observations. It was slow, and anxiety-inducing. It took a few moments to happen, but she began to consciously process the sounds in the room and any feelings she had. Her cheek bone hurt, her arm hurt, and someone was holding her hand. Bits of memory from the dream began to filter through, and each hit from Victoria, even in memory form, made her flinch. Kristina squeezed the hand in her hand. The hand was much bigger than hers, and for a moment she thought it was her father. She squeezed the hand again, tighter this time.

"Father?" her voice was inaudible, however there was a faint sound of . The person sitting beside her began stirring and he groaned in pain. No, that wasn't her father. That groan belonged to Professor Snape.

"Kristina?" she heard her name, but that was not a familiar voice. But that was not coming from Professor Snape. A different person. There was someone else in the room, she realized. "Are you awake?"

Kristina's eyes fluttered open and she began looking around, curious. Professor Snape had finally sat up straight and was rubbing his face groggily. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Kristina's bright blues looking up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Professor Snape breathed a sigh of relief and, without thinking, he threw his arms around her and held her tightly.

"Oh my gods," he breathed.

Kristina squeaked and tried to respond to him. However, no sound escaped. Immediately, panic flooded her veins and she put her arms around Professor Snape and grabbed his hair. He jerked back, making her let go.

"Kristina! It is just me!" he snapped.

"Uncle Severus," she tried to say, wincing in pain.

"Hm?" Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "Kristina?"

Angry, Kristina threw her arms down and stared at the ceiling. Then she looked down and made the 'writing' motion.

"I can't speak!" The only audible thing that came from her was a squeak. Then, she squeaked again from the pain in her throat.

"Is there something wrong?" Stephanie asked.

Kristina made the motion again and that was when Professor Snape understood it.

"Where's her voice?" he asked Stephanie.

"What?" Stephanie looked at Kristina. "I...I don't know, sir. She should be able to speak."

"I bet it was the damn demon, so Kristina couldn't tell us," Professor Snape looked at Kristina. "Alright...we'll do simple questions. Kristina, are you okay my child?"

Kristina shook her head.

"Was it the demon?"

Kristina nodded quickly and brought her hands up to her throat.

"Your throat hurts?" he asked.

Kristina nodded and then made a cutting motion with her hands and pointed towards her vocal cords. She could remember the scene now. Victoria Clyde, her demoness, had cut her vocal cords. She had the ability to do it without cutting her flesh. The demon did it to prevent her from speaking her name. Why, Kristina was still not positive on. Professor Snape glanced at Stephanie.

"Is she saying that her vocal cords were cut?" Stephanie asked.

"No," Professor Snape started sarcastically. "She's saying her vocal cords are working fine! Yes she's saying her vocal cords were cut! I'm thinking it's because of that damn demon. What can be done about her vocal cords?"

"I'm...not sure," Stephanie admitted.

"Go get Healer Ayden, then," Professor Snape started impatiently.

Stephanie stood up, "Professor, don't you remember me?"

"Who are you?" Professor Snape snapped impatiently.

"I was Lily's friend, Stephanie Wong," Stephanie told him.

"I don't remember you," Professor Snape told her. "Please get the healer."

"Fine," Stephanie offered an exasperated sigh and she began leaving. "What happened to you, Severus?"

Professor Snape glared at her, "What hasn't happened to me? Just go!"

Stephanie scrambled out of the room and Professor Snape returned a soft glance at Kristina.

"I'm so sorry, Kristina," he apologized to her.

Kristina shrugged and watched to make sure he could watch her. Anxiously, she tapped at her right wrist and gave him a questioning expression.

"What? Are you asking for the time? I don't know, morning I suppose?" Professor Snape muttered tartly.

Kristina frowned and sighed.

"Did you learn anything about the demon last night?" Professor Snape asked gently.

Kristina nodded and made a gesture with her hand about how much she learned. Not much.

"A little bit? Well, that's  _something_ ," Professor Snape sighed.

Kristina nodded.

"I would ask what you learned, however, you are in no position to speak at the moment," Professor Snape sighed. "How many things did you learn?"

Kristina counted on her fingers. The name, how long she'd attached herself, and...almost got her motive but not really. She held up two fingers.

"Only two things?" Professor Snape asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Kristina nodded.

"Hm..." Professor Snape thought. "Name?"

Kristina nodded.

"Well, that's definitely a start," Professor Snape crossed his arms. "Motive?"

Kristina shook her head.

"Hm...how long she's been attached to you?"

Kristina nodded quickly and gave a thumbs up.

"How long?" Professor Snape asked. "Is it days? Weeks? Months?"

Kristina shook her head at all of them and Professor Snape hesitated his question, "Years?"

This time, Kristina nodded.

"How many?"

Holding up two fingers, Kristina threw her arms around Professor Snape and buried her face in his shoulder and began crying, even ignoring the pain coming from her vocal cords as she cried. Professor Snape remained still from shock. Two years? The demon has been associated with Kristina for two years? And that was when Professor Snape understood  _exactly_  why Kristina was crying.

"I'm sorry," Professor Snape apologized. "This does seem to put a damper on things..."

"Healer Ayden, I—Oh my God, is Kristina okay?" Stephanie and Ayden were now at the door and both were shocked to see her crying.

Professor Snape glanced to the side, "Not particularly." He glanced back at Kristina and gently nudged her. "Kristina, the healer is back. He's going to examine you. Oh, stop crying. You're breaking my heart. Oh wait..."

Kristina sat back up and wiped at her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Healer Ayden asked Professor Snape.

"She's...well...scared," Professor Snape shrugged. "And I really don't blame her, considering what happened to her last night."

"I suppose so," Ayden nodded.

"I honestly don't blame her either," Stephanie admitted.

Ayden walked over to Kristina and held up a popsicle stick.

"I would like to see down your throat, Kristina," he told her. "I need to be able to judge exactly what happened. Would you open your mouth for me?"

Kristina nodded and opened her mouth as wide as she could. Ayden placed the popsicle stick on her tongue and cast  _lumos_  on his wand. Pointing the wand at Kristina, he glanced down into her throat and blinked in disbelief.

"Her voice box is missing," he pulled back and tossed away the popsicle stick into the trash can. "How is that possible? There's no scarring or anything! It's like...she never had one!"

"Well I know she had one," Professor Snape looked just as disbelieving of this issue. "She can speak fluent English and even some Spanish."

"Oh I have no doubt she had a voice box," Healer Ayden placed his hands on his hips in thought. "How did the demon do it? I'm going to have to make the potion myself!"

"Wait," Professor Snape started. "Could...I do that? I don't want Kristina stuck here in the hospital until the potion is made."

"Well, I mean..." Healer Ayden looked at Stephanie. "What do you think?"

"It's a good idea, Ayden," Stephanie agreed with Snape. "Although, Professor...How do you plan to work with Kristina? She can't do magic..."

"She can," Professor Snape started tartly. "All I have to do is teach her Legilimency and Occlumency and she'll be fine."

Kristina looked up at him with hope.

"Are you sure?" Ayden asked.

"Yes," Professor Snape glared. "I'm a master Occlumens."

"Well..." Ayden sighed. "Sure, if you want to take the time to research the herbs and such to grow back organs..."

"Oh, I do," Professor Snape stood up. "It's not you guys, I'm sorry. I'd just...like to get back to Hogwarts as soon as possible."

"I totally understand that," Stephanie agreed.

"Well, I suppose you two can go back... Do you feel alright enough to go back to school, Kristina?" Ayden asked.

Kristina nodded eagerly. She was ready to go back.

"Please," she tried to say.

"Alright, I suppose..." Ayden nodded.

"Thank you," Professor Snape inclined his head and helped Kristina up.

x x x

It was lunch time when they got back to Hogwarts. Professor Snape was walking with Kristina clinging to him, trying to not fall asleep. As they walked towards the Great Hall to have lunch, he realized that Kristina was sleepy. He gently prodded her side.

"Hey, not yet," he told her. "You should eat before you go back and rest."

Although she could not say a word, the expression she made said more than she could with words. Professor Snape glanced at her and shook his head.

"No, you can't kill me," he told her.

Kris raised an eyebrow.

"You do make more facial expressions than I can keep up with," Professor Snape told her.

 _I don't know whether that's a compliment or not_ , Kristina mused with a slight giggle.

"Hm?" Professor Snape wondered. "Not sure if that's a compliment or not?"

Kristina looked at him, surprised.

"I can do Legilimency, my child," he reminded gently.

 _Why did you not use it earlier?!_ Kristina wondered.

"Because, I..." Professor Snape blinked with disbelief. How did he forget to do that? Was it simply the fact that it was the heat of the moment? "I am not certain how I forgot..."

 _I guess you just were too shocked and worried for that, I suppose?_  Kristina wondered.

"Indeed," Professor Snape agreed.

 _You are weird_ , Kristina muttered.

"That is the pot calling the kettle black," Professor Snape sneered.

Kristina rolled her eyes as they entered the Great Hall. Suddenly, there were 100 faces looking at them as they walked towards the tables. A couple of groans came from the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, however, there were many murmurs of relief seeing Kris was okay. Kris looked around at everyone, seeing the variety of expressions and reactions to their return. Some were pointing at her, others were pointing at Snape. A few, she could hear even at this distance, were complaining that Snape was back, or that Kris was back. It depended on the person as to who was the worst for coming back. Kristina scowled, however, Professor Snape touched her shoulder.

"Ignore them, my dear," he told her. "Their opinions do not matter."

 _I know..._ Kristina scowled.

"You go sit over there with Miss Hartnell," Professor Snape gestured. "I must tell Dumbledore and the other teachers of this."

 _Yes, Uncle Severus..._ Kristina looked down.

Professor Snape gently embraced her, "It's alright, Kristina. If I'm not done by the time you're done eating, have Hartnell take you to Ravenclaw tower."

 _Yes sir..._  Kristina nodded.  _Thank you, Uncle Severus, for being there last night._

"Well..." Professor Snape nodded. "I was needed there. By you and the healers."

 _Why_? Kristina asked.

"Because, Kristina..." Professor Snape sighed. He figured he should tell her before she sat down. "They couldn't get ahold of either of your parents last night. Without them, they had to have someone else. That was the only reason they let me stay, was because they needed a next-of-kin to help make decisions."

Kristina jumped and squeaked,  _What? They couldn't find Mom and Dad?_

"I know, it's rather distressing," Professor Snape agreed. "I'm concerned for them, as they should have been easy to get ahold of."

 _It's suspicious!_  Kristina exclaimed.  _It's not them...I bet it was the stupid Ministry. I bet they took in my parents for questioning._

"I'm going to write to the ministry today and find out for sure," Professor Snape assured her. "You deserve to know where your folks are."

 _Damn right I do_ , Kristina fumed.

"Now now, enough fuming," Professor Snape told her. "Sit down and eat."

_Yes, Uncle Severus..._


	10. I Wish I Came With Closed Captioning

**Chapter Ten  
** _I Wish I Came With Closed Captioning_

"Oh my goodness!" Erin exclaimed when Kristina finally sat down beside her in the Great Hall. "Kris, are you okay?"

Kris shrugged and shook her hand as if to say "meh". Which is what she  _was_ trying to say. Although that was not working as well as she'd like. Erin was staring at her, confused. Frustrated, she puffed out her cheeks and snagged Erin's parchment and scribbled her response on the back of it.

"What are you doing? Is something wrong? Are we in another crisis already? We have a Charms essay due in two days," Erin watched Kristina write. "Seriously, Kris. I need this parch—wait, what?"

Kristina slammed the pen down and gave back the parchment. Now anxious, Erin began reading the chicken-scratch and realized Kris was in another crisis. In disbelief, Erin looked back up at her and blinked right at Kristina.

"No..."

Kristina nodded and mouthed, "yes." Erin gasped and Kristina put her hands over the ink to make it disappear. Then, she wrote more.

" _Erin, Uncle Severus is going to help teach me Legilimency and Occlumency so I can continue communicating with people. He's the greatest at both in the whole world so I'll be able to learn without problem. I just hate I have to learn this way, because I'm mute. Stupid demon! I swear when I get my hands on her...!_ "

"I know, I know..." Erin sighed. "Dang. I'm so sorry this has happened to you, Kris."

Kris shrugged and erased the ink from the page with one swipe.

"So..." Erin pointed at the chicken wings beside her. "There is chicken wings if you're hungry."

Kristina wrote on the parchment, " _Severus wants me to eat_." After Erin read it, Kristina erased it and smiled, reaching for the chicken wings.

"I mean, he's your uncle," Erin reminded. "He's looking out for you."

Kristina nodded and suddenly a few students came up to her and Erin to see Kris. Two were Slytherin, three Ravenclaws, and three Hufflepuffs approached her.

"Whoa! Kris! You okay?" came Victoria Valerian, the eldest Slytherin in the group. 

"Yeah, are you okay?" Valarie Valerian, Victoria's younger sister, asked with worry.

"We heard your cries last night," came a Ravenclaw acquaintance, Jordan Anger, with genuine concern.

"It was freaky," came Sierra Lynn, a fourth year Ravenclaw. "I legit thought Peeves was pulling a prank but then I realized it was you."

"I had...my mind was in the gutter," Lowgan Fall blushed. "I thought you were getting some."

Kristina raised an eyebrow at Lowgan. She did not sound like that when she yelled, right? Maybe Lowgan just had a dirty mind, she mused. And she thought  _she_ was bad.

"Mate, you are gross," muttered Valarie.

"I wanted to see that," Emily O'Connor, the other Slytherin in the group, admitted. "But like, when I saw Professor Moses in potions instead of Professor Snape, and not seeing you there had me worried."

"Me too!" Oliver agreed. "Like wow that's unusual!"

Kris gave an awkward thumbs-up at them and tried to smile.

"Her demon cut out her voice box, somehow, not even leaving a scar on her throat," Erin quickly explained. "It's weird!"

"What?!" Everyone all at once exclaimed.

"She can't speak anymore?" Oliver asked. "Oh no! She won't be able to sing anymore!"

"Some of us may appreciate that..." Terra muttered.

"Professor Snape is going to teach her legilimency and occlumency," Erin told them.

"Ooh!" Sierra jumped up. "Can we learn too?"

Offering them an apologetic expression, Kristina shook her head.

"I mean why would Professor Snape teach us anyway?" Oliver asked.

"It'd be cool though," Douglass admitted.

"It's wishful thinking," Terra prodded Sierra.

"I know, I just wish Snape would like me," Sierra grinned.

"That isn't happening, young'un," Terra mused. "You're not his niece."

"Cousin," Erin corrected.

Kristina nodded quickly in agreement, wishing she could speak right now. With a sigh, Kristina began biting into her wings. The others exchanged concerned expressions.

"Hey Kris, if you ever need help or anything, let me know," Oliver told her.

"Yeah," everyone else agreed.

Kristina looked up and mouthed "thank you" to them.

"Oh crap..." Emily looked up. "Guys, it's Alex..."

Alex strutted over to the group and placed her hand on Kristina's shoulder. Kristina turned her head and then angrily slapped at her hand.

"Get away from me!" she snapped, but all that came out was air and no real words.

"Oh what's this?" Alex asked. "You can't speak?"

"Get away from her!" Erin snapped.

"Yeah, Alex," Emily hissed. "You jerk."

"Oh, and you're in my own house," Alex pouted.

"You don't belong in Slytherin," Emily snapped.

"Most of us are supposed to be loyally cunning to our friends. Not assholes," Victoria calmly pointed out to Alex.

"Who said we're friends?" Alex asked.

"You two used to be friends," Valarie pointed out.

"'Used to', being the key phrase there," Erin sighed.

"You have no right to touch Kristina," Victoria growled.

"Oh?" Alex sneered. "No right, you say? You can't tell me what to do."

Alex touched Kristina's arm again and Kristina slapped her hand away again.

"I will end your life with a  _bang_  if you don't stop!" Victoria exclaimed. "Is that how you'd like to die,  _hm_?"

"Whoa, Victoria, I don't think that's acceptable to say," Valarie whispered.

"Stop it!" Kristina tried to scream.

Hysterical laughter busted out from Alex. Somehow, this was some kind of funny joke that Kristina was not catching. Fuming, Kristina slapped her hands on the table and stood up.

"Oh, did I make you mad?" Alex sneered.

All Kristina could do was make a growling sound at Alex. Which, again, made Alex laugh even more. Angrily, Kristina snatched Erin's textbook and decked Alex on the head with it. Alex gave a pained screech and Kristina set the textbook back down. The group of students who joined Kristina all snickered and high fived her.

"That was a good hit!" Oliver praised.

"Kristina Astrid-Leigh Magi!" came Professor Snape's voice. When she looked up at Professor Snape, she scowled at him.

" _Uncle Severus, I couldn't get her to stop! She can't hear my thoughts!_ "

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you should hit her upside the head with Hartnell's textbook," Professor Snape reminded her.

" _What was I supposed to do? She kept touching my shoulder and I couldn't tell her to stop._ "

"Decking her—" Professor Snape looked at the other students. "Is it true? Northam refused to stop? Did you lot ask her to?"

Everyone nodded, almost in sinc.

"She was laughing at Kris every time she tried to speak," Oliver told him.

"We really tried to stop Alex from touching her, sir," Victoria told Professor Snape. "There are just...you can't control other people's actions. I tried to help to the best of my abilities and so did Emily and my sister and the rest."

"Professor, she kept touching Kristina even though she slapped her hand away," Emily told him. "Krissy had not other choice but to deck her. She couldn't express it verbally so she had to use physical force."

Professor Snape sighed. Well, he was not about to take Kristina to get in trouble anyway. He would not do that to her. Alex, on the other hand...

"Northam, come with me," Professor Snape demanded. "Quit acting like she tried to murder you and get up."

"Why?" Alex asked. "She's the one who hit me!"

"With good reason," Snape snapped.

"Yeah!" Sierra exclaimed, then got side glances from everyone, including Snape. "Er..."

"Forty points to Slytherin, sixty to Hufflepuff, and sixty to Ravenclaw," Professor Snape gave the group points.

"Thank you, Professor," Victoria thanked.

"Yeah, thank you!" chimed in Valarie and Oliver.

"Woo! More points!" exclaimed Sierra.

"Northam, I will not ask you again," Professor Snape returned his glare to Alex. "Get. Up."

"Fine!" Alex snapped, forcing herself to stand up.

"Ooh somebody's getting ballsy," Emily sneered. "You wanna give our Head of House attitude?"

"O'Connor, please...don't..." Professor Snape sighed. "Alright, Northam, come with me. Hartnell, after Kristina eats...would you mind taking her to Ravenclaw tower for me please? So she can properly rest, that is."

"Of course, sir," Erin agreed.

" _What about Occlumency and Legilimency?_ " Kristina asked Professor Snape.

"Those lessons are for tomorrow," Professor Snape told her. "Not today, I'd like you to rest. And next time, please do not hit people with a book. That's not acceptable in normal society."

" _Well neither am I_ ," Kristina grinned.

"Eat," he ordered her, blowing off her silly response.

" _Yes sir._.." Kristina sighed.

Professor Snape turned and began walking away with Alex. Everybody in the group breathed in relief.

"I know Professor Snape loves you, but I was almost certain he'd punish you for hitting another student," Lowgan admitted.

Kristina nodded in agreement.

"Well, I mean...we told Alex to stop, and Kristina had no way of verbally telling her to stop so...I feel like she did what she had to do," Oliver reminded.

"I mean, really," Emily agreed. "How much of an arsehole do you have to be to not get the hint?"

"A thick-skulled piece of crap!" Oliver laughed. "Haha!"

"She's just mean, Kristina," Jordan told her. "Don't worry."

"I bet she's just jealous that Professor Snape hates her guts," Victoria grinned.

"I wish it was just that," Erin sighed.

"That's partially it," Emily agreed. "No, I think she's mad at Krissy because she has a plan for her future and knows what she wants to do, and Alex doesn't because she's a muggle-born and her parents are pressuring her into doing muggle things and she can't decide."

"Well that's most definitely stupid," Victoria muttered.

"It definitely is," Erin agreed.

Kristina nodded.

"Hey, that's what I said," Emily agreed with Victoria. "Alex nearly decked me on that one though..."

"So a violent, jealous, cunt of a Slytherin," Oliver muttered. "When's she gonna get her wand snapped and expelled?"

"Dunno," Emily shrugged. "I've heard Snape saying he wants to expel her SO bad but he can't because it's not his decision."

"I know he'd do it to protect Kristina," Valarie pointed out.

"Kristina's a great person, of course he would," Jordan reminded.

"She's his  _niece_ ," Erin emphasized. "That's why he protects her."

"That too," Jordan distantly nodded.

"Alright, well, we should allow Kristina to eat," Valarie suggested. "Before Professor Snape comes back and gives us detention for distracting her."

Everyone giggled at the notion, even though they knew it was true.

"See you later!" Oliver and Valarie told her.

"Yeah, later girl!" Lowgan, Sierra, and Emily exclaimed.

"Don't die," Jordan and Victoria grinned.

Kristina rolled her eyes and smiled. She waved them off with both of her hands and went back to eating her lunch.

x x x

Being unable to talk, much to Kristina's surprise, was more difficult than ever. Even with being an introvert, she still needed to communicate with her friends, her teachers, and hell even her enemies. Professor Snape wouldn't always accept her decking another student with a book. He only allowed it because she literally could not do anything else to stop her, considering her wand was still in her dorm. Next time, she knew, he would have to punish her whether he wanted to or not.

However, that has not really put a damper on Kristina's mood. None of it. Sure, it was frustrating to not talk but she found her ways. After her first few legilimency lessons from her Uncle Severus, she was learning how to communicate with everyone else with her mind. To a muggle, it was called "telepathy", however, that word was an insult and wizards dare you to call it that one more time!

After Kristina's rest the day she returned from the hospital, Professor Snape began her on the legilimency and occlumency lessons. Teaching her, as always, was not much of an issue. In fact, she got it down faster than Professor Snape had expected.

"Hm," Professor Snape looked at Kristina. "I know you learn rather quickly, but I was not expecting that fast..."

Kristina nodded, " _Genetics, you know?_ "

He scoffed at her, "I suppose so. I would not be sure about that, but whatever helps you sleep. Alright. I wonder if the occlumency would help keep your demon out of your dreams."

" _She has a name_ ," Kristina told him.

"Oh? You finally learned her name?" Snape asked. "Do tell your favorite uncle..."

" _Victoria Clyde_ ," Kristina told him.

"Victoria Clyde..." Professor Snape repeated out loud, raising an eyebrow. "Thank you for telling me her name, I did mean to ask if you got it by chance. So do you think you can utilize the occlumency I taught you today to close your mind off to her?"

Kristina nodded, " _Of course, Uncle Severus_."

"Excellent," Professor Snape nodded. "If it works, it may be just the beginning of defeating the demon."

" _You really think so, Uncle Severus?_ " Kristina asked him.

Professor Snape nodded.

"Indeed I do, my child," he told her. "It has to be the beginning. Perhaps a small step, but it's going to help out in the long-run."

" _Right_ ," Kristina nodded.

"You just go do your homework and get ready to go to your classes tomorrow, alright?" Professor Snape told her.

" _Yes sir,_ " Kristina forced a smile to her face.

x x x

"How was occlumency with your uncle?" Erin asked when Kristina returned.

" _Pretty good_ ," Kristina responded.

"Oooooooh I can hear your voice in my head now," Erin told her.

Kris grinned.

" _Yeah? Well, that's good. Uncle Severus said I learned that fairly quickly compared to other wizards_ ," Kristina told her.  _"Although he gave me a homework assignment for it. Basically, it's to block my thoughts from the demon, Victoria Clyde...No, not Victoria Valerian. Victoria Clyde is the demon's name. I wish it wasn't 'Victoria' because of my friend Victoria._ "

"Oh I know how you feel," Erin agreed.

" _Yeah..._ "

They fell into silence as Erin stood up and reached for the radio.

"Are you gonna be able to do the interview with Stephen Cromwell on Saturday?" Erin asked.

Kris gasped, " _I forgot all about that! Shit. Shit shit shit BLOODY DEMON FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE ABYSS!_ "

"OW! Crikey, Kris! That hurt!" Erin squeaked.

" _Sorry..._ " Kristina apologized.

"Jeez," Erin shook her head. "Anyway. Let's listen to to our comedy and do our homework. Professor Flitwick gave you an extension on your essay because of what happened the other day. I'll help you with it."

Nodding, Kristina grabbed her writing stuff and charms textbook and sat down on her bed to begin her assignment. Erin sat down beside her and gently talked her through the assignment while they listened to their shows. By the end of the last episode, Kristina had about half of the essay for charms written down and she was ready for bed. She knew she needed to go to bed fairly early so she could rest. Erin agreed with Kristina setting her assignments aside. She got up and crawled over to her bed to sleep as well.

"Goodnight, Kristina," Erin told her.

Kristina grunted a response and crawled under her blankets to sleep. Erin kept a close eye on Kristina until she fell asleep. It was not long before Erin herself fell into a sleep for the night.


	11. Victory For Now

**Chapter Eleven  
** _Victory For Now_

It was finally Saturday, the day they were going to go to Hogsmeade and Kristina was going to interview with Stephen Cromwell. Naturally, she was anxious. Especially since no one can hear her. Professor Snape was coming to help her voice herself  _and_ to answer whatever questions she may not be able to respond to herself.

" _Are you sure you want to do this, Severus?_ " she wondered, raising an eyebrow at him as he readjusted her jacket and pushed the lapel down. He nodded at her and then he pointed his wand at her hair to make it appear tidy, compared to the frizzy bed head she had. Then he licked his thumb and wiped off something she had on the corner of her mouth, making her blush. Not that it took much to do.

"Dear me, my child," he muttered. "Did you not bother to shower this morning?"

" _I take my showers at night, Severus..._ "

"Does not appear that you did," he scowled. "I'll buy you a butterbeer. That sound good, child?"

Kristina nodded, " _yeah_."

"Good," he told her. "Hm, I believe that is Cromwell over there, my dear." He pointed to Stephen Cromwell. He was about an inch shorter than Professor Snape, and appearance-wise more like Professor Moses. Except much paler. He had chestnut brown eyes, jet black hair, and wore a pair of glasses. He wore dark wizard robes that billowed around him as he walked. Stephen Cromwell had a friendly smile as he approached them.

"Are you Kristina Magi?" he asked Kristina, smiling.

Kristina nodded and Stephen Cromwell glanced at Professor Snape. He gave an acknowledging nod to Snape.

"Are you her father or...?"

"Her cousin, Severus Snape," Professor Snape responded swiftly. "Well, I call her my niece."

"Oh? Is there a reason you're here?" Stephen asked.

"She cannot speak as of right now," Professor Snape responded. "Unfortunately, it is a result of the demon you would like to know about."

"Interesting," Stephen rubbed his chin. "How about we grab a seat and order some butter beers?"

"Mm," Professor Snape agreed.

Kristina nodded and the two followed Stephen to an empty table and they all ordered butter beer. Stephen took out his notebook and turned to a clean page.

"So Miss Magi, you are speaking through the help of your Uncle?" he asked gently.

Kristina nodded, " _Yes sir, my Uncle Severus is an excellent occlumens and legilimens, and we can exchange thoughts with each other._ "

Professor Snape repeated her words to Stephen and mentally smiled about her comment. Stephen nodded.

"You sure you're not pulling his strings?" Stephen grinned.

Kristina smiled and nodded.

"So tell me, how did this happen?" he asked. "You can't speak, but I can assume you could before, right?"

Kristina nodded, " _yes sir. I could speak until an unexpected encounter with my demon left me without a voice box. I can make vague sounds but I can't entirely speak._ "

After Snape repeated her words, Stephen wrote it down and then asked, "Was this fairly recently?"

 _"Yes. In fact, just the other day. It happened in my sleep. I don't remember what exactly happened at this point except that we fought and at the end she ripped out my voice box. Uncle Severus is trying to make me a potion to grow it back. He's using some of the basics from the Skele-gro potion to help with growing my voice box back,_ " Kristina explained, and Snape repeated.

"I do hope it works, Miss Magi," Stephen Cromwell hoped.

Kristina nodded and Professor Snape responded with, "We'll get her speaking again...one way or another."

"Of course," Stephen nodded. "How long has this demon been with you? Do you know the truth?"

" _Two years...but she never showed herself until recently_ ," Kristina admitted. " _Which is what'll make things complicated in the trial...Since this demon started showing herself, I'm going to have to testify and get wrung out by lawyers...Not looking forward to that._ "

After Snape said that, he looked at her and reassured her, "I shall be of help to at least...make it slightly more comfortable, my child."

"Aww that's so sweet," Stephen Cromwell smiled. "You sure you're not her father?"

Snape smirked, "I'm positive I am not. I just...seem to act like it..."

"Of course," Stephen smiled.

The three of them continued on for at least two hours with butterbeers and Stephen's warming sense of humor, at least for Kristina. Snape did not mind, however, he simply was not as easily amused with the jokes.

X X X

Miles away in London, at the Ministry of Magic, the team of investigators were grouped around in an interrogation room around Kthalas and Angelina Magi. Despite their best efforts, neither one was willing to admit the truth. Three days of interrogation had not gotten either of her parents to speak the truth. They just were afraid of what would happen if it got out. In fact, they were worried about what the demon would do to Kristina if they spoke the truth. The truth, sometimes, just need not be spoken according to them. However, the Wizengamot did not see it that way.

"One last time, Magi," Morgan Crilli sneered at Kthalas. "You will tell me the truth and nothing but the truth. You will not skirt around said truth."

"I told ye, I'm not disclosing anything in regards to my daughter," Kthalas sneered.

"Alas, don't you think you should tell them the truth?" Angelina asked, anxious.

"I'm trying to protect you and Kristina," Kthalas reminded.

"Enough chitchat!" Crilli snapped.

Kthalas watched as one of the other detectives pulled out a vial of some potion. Unfortunately, Kthalas could not read the label. Watching as Crilli took the vial and popped the cork off, he realized what it was. Before he could react to it, Crilli pulled out his wand and pointed it at Kthalas.

" _Petrificus Totalus_!"

Now Kthalas was restrained by ropes. It was beginning to make sense. They were about to give him a truth serum.

"Shite," Kthalas muttered. "No, please don't. I'm allergic to the ingredients in the truth serum."

"Well, you should have told me the truth first," Crili sneered.

"If he dies in your custody, it'll be his blood on your hands!" Angelina snapped.

"Get her out of here," Crilli jerked his head to the exit.

"No!" Angelina protested. "I did it! I am the reason why Kristina has a—no! Stop it!"

"You're going into a separate room," the elder detective, Guy Sykes, told her.

"No!" Angelina cried. "No! Kthalas!"

"I'll be fine, Angie," Kthalas reassured.

"Stop lying! You know you won't!" Angelina screamed at him.

"I love you and Kristina so much, Angie," his voice cracked. "I'm sorry..."

"Babe..." Angelina blinked away tears as they yanked her away.

X X X

"Alright, Miss Magi," Stephen Cromwell closed his notebook. "Thank you so much for interviewing with me. And you, for being able to speak for Miss Magi, Professor."

Professor Snape nodded, "Of course."

" _Again, this is all of what I know as of right now. Something may come up that I was unaware of_ ," Kristina responded and Professor Snape repeated it for Cromwell. " _As far as I know, the demon did this on her own and, again, as far as I know, no one I know had anything to do with this._ "

"Of course," Stephen nodded. "I know you told me what you could, and I thank you for opening up about it."

Kristina nodded.

"I'll be sure to remind the audience of that as well," Stephen grinned. "This is such a new thing, it's hard to know  _exactly_  what's going on.

"Alright, well I hope to get your story out," Stephen told her.

Kristina nodded,  _"Thank you_."

"Thank you," Professor Snape thanked.

"Of course," Stephen Cromwell smiled. "Have a great rest of your Hogsmeade trip, Miss Magi!"

" _Thank you,"_ Kristina thanked.

"Thank you," Snape whispered as he dragged Kristina away.

" _Is there something wrong, Severus_?" Kristina asked.

"Hm? Oh. Well, perhaps there is but I am not positive," he told her.

Questioningly, she raised an eyebrow.

"It's simply a feeling in my gut," he explained with a sigh, crossing his arms. "I'm still rather concerned for your mother and father since the hospital could not get ahold of them. It is most peculiar, you know."

Kristina looked down and nodded.

" _Haven't you been concerned?_ " he asked.

She nodded again, " _I have. Just...my mind has been everywhere lately._ "

"Of course it has, my child," Professor Snape realized. "My apologies, Kristina."

X X X

The following Monday was a cold and dreary one. Kristina wore her sweater AND her jacket overtop of her uniform shirt under her robes as she roamed in between classes, and even in the dungeon. Her teachers could not help but be amused with her attempt at keeping warm. Even her uncle Severus was amused by it. He forced an amused smile to his lips when she approached him before class.

"Someone feeling a little...chilly?" Professor Snape teased.

Kristina rolled her eyes at him and hugged him.

"Good morning to you as well, child," he mused. "Oh. I want you to drink this potion. I got the potion ready. It should help you get your voice back."

" _Will it hurt_?"

"Well...it might, but not to the extent if skele-gro," Professor Snape admitted. "That's an excruciating pain I would never wish upon you."

" _That's what you said about my period cramps_ ," Kristina smirked. " _You could no handle that pain_."

"I don't wish those upon you either," he muttered, handing over the vial. "Unfortunately, that is natural and I cannot quite stop it."

Kristina took the vial and nodded distantly. Then, she popped open the cork and chugged the potion. After gagging at the taste, she wiped her mouth and handed the vial back, " _Thank you, Uncle Severus_."

"Of course," he told her. "Go on and sit down so I can begin class."

Kristina nodded and sat down. That was when she began her potions assignment with Erin, Valarie, and Emily. As class progressed, Kristina felt something was wrong in the pit of her stomach. Alex was on with her usual bullying, but that was not what was bothering her. This time, it was something else. Something that, deep inside, scared her. At the end of class, Kristina asked Professor Snape for a vial of Calming Draught. Confused, he raised an eyebrow.

"What is worrying you, my dear?" he asked.

Kristina made a whimpering sound and responded with, " _I don't know, Uncle Severus. I really don't. I'm scared and anxious for no reason. But deep down I think it's about my parents_."

"Alright," Snape sighed and turned around to get the vial of Calming Draught. "What may be the problem, do you know?"

Kristina felt tears coming as she shook her head. Professor Snape turned back around and saw her fighting the tears.

"What? What's wrong? Kristina?" Snape normally would not panic, but because of recent events he felt on edge.

"Kristina, aren't you—oh my gosh, are you okay?" Erin asked.

"What's wrong with Krissy?" Emily asked, almost panicked herself.

Embarrassed, she put a hand over her face and kept fighting the tears with an occasional sob coming out. The girls looked up at Professor Snape, who was silent and confused.

"I don't know," he admitted. "She has a gut feeling about her parents but she can't articulate what is going on."

"What do you think?" Valarie asked.

"Well, judging by the stream of thoughts she currently has, and judging by the demon's thoughts, I think something has happened to her parents," he muttered, popping the cork off of the vial. "Kristina, I need to give you this potion. You cannot afford to miss more class time right now." After he tilted Kristina's chin up with the end of his wand, gently, he poured the liquid into her mouth and made sure she swallowed the potion. Satisfied, he turned to the group of girls concerned about her. "Tell her other teachers to keep an eye on her. I must send an owl to the Ministry to find out what's happened. Because something  _must_ have happened."

"Oh look at little butthurt Krissy," Alex sneered across the room.

"LEAVE MY ROOM!" Snape snapped in fury.

"Gosh, why do you have to be such a jerk?" Valarie asked Alex.

Alex left without another word and Snape sighed.

"Please escort her to her next class," he ordered them quietly.

The girls all nodded and took Kristina to her next class.

X X X

Kristina could feel her voice box growing back, however, she felt numb inside. She wished she could explain what she thought had happened to her parents, but she just could not. Something happened to them, and she could not be there for them. This made her a little more temperamental than normal. Being temperamental was not a good thing, and with bullies on her ass at dinner time again, she snapped.

When she felt the prodding hands behind her, poking her in the middle of her back, Kristina turned around and flashed a warning glare at Alex.

"Stop it, you prick," she warned with a hoarse voice. That was the most she had been able to say in a long time.

"Oooh seems somebody's getting her voice back," Alex sneered, prodding her again. "What? What'll you do to me if I don't stop?"

"I said stop it, prick!" Kristina's hoarse voice hurt but she did not care. Angry, she slapped Alex's hand away. "Blessed Goddess!"

"Wow, that potion seems to be doing pretty bad if you've got a hoarse voice," Alex teased.

"Get away from her, goodness!" Erin exclaimed.

"I'm already in a pissy mood," Kristina rasped and then squeaked at the pain in her throat.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Alex sneered. "That's not going to stop me, though. I want to see you snap so you can get expelled."

"I'll snap and stay, thank you very much," Kristina stood up.

"Huh? What was that?" Alex teased.

"I swear to the goddess," Kristina growled.

"Kristina, no..." Erin warned. "Stop it, Kris. Your demon is about to—oh shoot are you serious? Victoria! BAD! PROFESSOR SNAPE!"

"Shite," Professor Snape's cursing could be heard halfway across the room.

"Ooh we got her demon!" Alex exclaimed with excitement.

"She'll get into trouble this time for sure!" Alyssa Thamesford agreed.

Kristina clutched her head tightly with both hands, gripping at her hair. Tears were streaming down her face, and although no one could tell, she was actually having a headache. Above her, Victoria Clyde was materializing from darkness.

"No, no," she rasped. "Stop it. Please don't. Stop! I can handle Alex on my own, I swear."

"No you cannot," Victoria's voice boomed in the Great Hall. "You do not have the courage to stand up to a bully. Alex is mine to deal with. You just go into your demon-induced coma!" And with those words, Kristina's eyes rolled back and she fell backwards onto the floor.

"No!" Snape shouted and pointed his wand at the demon. "You have no right!  _Diabolus evanesco_!"

Although a light sparked off of his wand, the demon remained unaffected. Instead, she flitted down in front of Kristina and fully materialized before the whole room. Instead of being completely covered in feathers and with wings, she lost all of that and appeared as a regular human-being, not counting the crimson eyes and her ram horns. She even was wearing clothing. The demon, Victoria Clyde, wore a long, black coat that was belted at the waist and with the hood over her head, hiding her horns that were curled back. Underneath, they could see her obsidian black corset and the skirt she wore.

"Severus Snape, or should I say... _Uncle Severus_?" she greeted.

Professor Snape bared his teeth at the demon and glared, "You have no right to call me that."

"You think you can stop me from tearing into little Alex Northam right there?" Victoria asked, pointing at Alex.

"If I could, I would allow it. However, I am a teacher and it is my duty to protect the students, whether I hate them or love them," Professor Snape sneered.

Victoria scoffed and pointed a hand at Alex, "Yet you cannot protect her from me." Suddenly, she twitched her hand and caused Alex to fly backwards. A couple of teachers stopped her from hurting herself and Victoria smirked. Snape mused that was what Alex got for messing with Kristina. However, when he looked back Victoria was reaching for Alyssa.

" _Expelliarmus_!" he yelled as he pointed his wand again.

X X X

Inside of Kristina's mind, there was a struggle. She wanted to wake back up but her body would not answer her demands. It was frustrating, as she knew she needed to stop Victoria. Willing herself to fight the demon's suppressing spells on her was almost impossible.  _I can't let Victoria harm other students. That would look bad on me, especially because of the recent events with Alex_ , she thought.  _Come on, Magi. Get your arse up. You know you can do it._ And yet, she remained motionless on the outside. Frustration was setting in rapidly.  _You idiot, get up!_

"Not without help, I'm afraid," came a familiar voice.

When Kristina looked up, she saw a familiar figure from a few months back. He was the same height as Professor Snape, same complexion and similar facial structures. His hair was a dark brown and swept back behind his ears. He wore the same brown blazer and green shirt he did last time, except this time he was wearing a grey trench coat. And this time his wings were spread out.

"Metatron?" Kristina asked as he crouched down in front of her.

Metatron nodded.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "That this has happened to you..."

"It's not fair!" Kristina cried. "Why would God and the other gods allow such a thing to happen to me? Me! Of all the people out there, why me? Why did I end up with a demon?"

Metatron opened his mouth and closed it when he realized he needed to think his words through.

"Kristina...I think you ought to know..." he started with caution. "God had nothing to do with it. The other gods did not either. In fact...Oh, how do I put this without hurting your already fragile heart? She tempted your mother and father."

"What?" Kristina sat up. "What do you mean? They couldn't have done this...no."

"They did it because they thought it would help you, not hinder you," Metatron told her. "Victoria came to them and tricked them into making a demonic contract for you. She saw how weak you were and thought she could 'help' you."

"Why?" Kristina asked. "Why me?"

"Sh sh sh," Metatron tried to soothe her. "It's just another obstacle for you to get around."

"I hate it," Kristina told him, tears forming in her eyes. "I hate the stupid demon too. She's done nothing but caused trouble for me at school. She's why I've been bullied so harshly for the past two months! She's why...she's why..."

"I know, I know," Metatron told her. "I'm sorry...It's not easy to say, mind you. Give me a bit of credit here." He reached and swept her hair behind her ears so he could see her face better. "You have stayed so strong since this all started. However, you do not have enough strength to wake up and stop her."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kristina's voice trembled.

"Because, I figured you may desire a little bit of help," Metatron gave her a kind smile.

"You'll help me?" Kristina asked.

"You helped me get back to Heaven," Metatron told her. "Of course I'm here to help."

Kristina watched him in awe as he held out his hand for her to take.

"Come on, I'll help you," he urged her.

Anxious, Kristina took Metatron's hand and she soon found herself on the floor of the Great Hall again. After opening her eyes, her vision was blurred for a few seconds until she could focus on something in front of her. Soon, she realized that she had a tight grip on someone's ankle. When she gazed upwards, she realized she had a grip on Victoria's ankle. The demon was looking down at her with her glaring crimson eyes and with anger.

"What do you want, wimp?" Victoria asked.

Kristina tugged on Victoria's ankle and pulled her to the floor. Once she had fallen, Kristina crawled on top of her and pinned her down with her knees. She made sure Victoria could not move her arms before she drew her wand and pointed it at her.

"I...am...going to...cut...your heart out...with a spoon!" Kristina rasped.

"Oh you're so cute," Victoria laughed. "You could never hurt me!"

"No, but I can," came Metatron's voice from behind. The whole room gasped as they realized Metatron was back and Victoria yelped with fear.

"A Seraphim?" she squeaked.

"Not just any Seraphim..." Metatron smirked. "The voice of God. I believe we have met before, Victoria."

"Why did Metatron come back?" they heard McGonagall ask.

Professor Snape crossed his arms, "I believe he has his reasons, Minerva."

"Tell me why I shouldn't blast you to smithereens," Kristina sneered at Victoria. "I can perform the spell for it as well."

Metatron put a hand on Kristina's shoulder, "Not right now, child." This time, Kristina was pleasantly surprised that Metatron's touch did not let her see his thoughts this time. It was a change from the last time that they had met.

Metatron gestured at Kristina to perform the binding spell and Kristina acknowledged him.

" _Petrificus Totalus_ ," she said and Victoria was suddenly paralyzed.

"N-No!" Victoria screeched.

Metatron stood over the demon with a disapproving shake of his head.

"You tried so hard to destroy this sweet girl's life," he told her. "You've tried killing her, you've made her classmates scared of her, and you've got the Ministry of Magic after her. You tempted her parents and they caved. You've caused her peers to bully her, break down her already-fragile ego. You think I should offer you  _mercy_?" He scoffed, "Funny coming from a demon."

"Can I have the pleasure?" Kristina asked.

"No, child," Metatron told her. "You've done your job. You've had her restrained. I must take it from here. You have more things to deal with without this...thing..."

"What about the contract?" Kristina rasped.

"Oh, that? I've already taken care of it," Metatron smiled as he grabbed Victoria. "Without Victoria, you stand a better chance in the Wizengamot."

"He's right," Professor Snape helped Kristina up to her feet.

"Grrr!" Victoria snarled at Kristina. "I'll get you."

"No you won't," Metatron told Victoria, waving his hand and causing light binders to bind Victoria Clyde in place. "You will never get to trick another soul into your twisted plot..."

Metatron reached over to Kristina with a smile on his face, "Hug? Before I go, again?"

Kristina smiled and gave him a hug, "Thank you, Metatron."

Metatron hugged her back and then disappeared with Victoria. The whole room was silenced from awe. Slowly, murmurs of approval rose from the students and even the teachers. Then, an applause.

"She's gone!" a couple of students exclaimed.

"It is not the end of it, I'm afraid," Kristina announced, her voice still rasping. "The Ministry is unaware of such a thing, and I must still present myself in trial."

"And I will most certainly help you with that," Professor Snape told her.

"Uhm, I hope everyone is okay," Kristina admitted. "Wasn't my intent to harm anyone or scare any of you."

"You're fine," Dumbledore assured Kristina.

"Thank you, sir," Kristina inclined her head.

"I'm glad to see you regaining your voice," he told her.

Kristina nodded, "Thank you. Professor Snape helped me."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement, "Of course."

"Well, go and sit down..." Professor Snape told her. "I know you were in the middle of eating...And go straight to bed afterwards, got it?"

"Yes sir..." Kristina smiled, sitting back down with Erin.

"Well, that was unexpected," Erin commented.

"How do you think I feel?" Kristina rubbed her throat. "Thank the goddess for the Christian religion...Metatron saved my ass."

"Right...because God exists with the other gods...with her own angels and such," Erin nodded.

"Yep..." Kristina sighed and picked her fork back up. Then, she continued eating. After a couple moments of awkward silence, she spoke back up.

"Well...I'm glad that part had a happy ending," Kristina admitted.

"But as you said, you still have the Wizengamot to attend," Erin reminded. "That still has to be gone through."

"Yeah..." Kristina looked down.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Kristina responded. "Just worried for my parents, still."

"I'm sure they're fine..."

"I feel like Metatron meant to tell me something but he forgot in the midst of the chaos," Kristina looked at Erin. "I won't be mad though...I understand. I hope it was nothing important."

"I'm sure it was nothing super important," Erin assured.

"I sure hope you're right, Erin," Kristina hoped.


	12. Attention, Attention

**Chapter Twelve:  
** _Attention, Attention_

Whatever Metatron had to say continued to elude Kristina for days afterwards. Professor Snape had not received any sort of response from the Ministry, which was deemed suspicious by Erin and Professor McGonagall. However, things were better after Metatron took Victoria away. It was a breath of fresh air for Kristina. Finally, that part of her struggle was over with. Although, as Kristina had told Erin the other day, there was still a battle to go. Professor Snape had to help Kristina with her confidence, and her voice. Enunciation and eye contact were key in trials. Even in muggle ones, noted Erin. Body language was also beneficial to the point at hand.

"Sit up straight," Professor Snape placed his hand in the middle of her back to push her posture up.

"Right," Kristina muttered. "Straight posture."

"Eye contact," Professor Moses told her. "Eye contact is imperative."

"Right, eye contact..." Kristina sighed.

"Speak clearly," Professor McGonagall told her.

"Enunciate your words," Professor Snape clarified. Then, mimicking her soft voice he said, "Don't talk like this, you'll not be heard across the room."

"Right..." Kristina nodded.

"Now, I'm gonna pretend I'm the interrogator," Professor Moses told her. "So, picture the courtroom of the Wizengamot. It's huge, it's a bit dark. You have a bunch of people before you who shall be your judge and jury. They may as well be a corrupt jury. Right? Got the picture? Now, ignore Severus. He's only there for moral support. He's not going to be doing any talking for you. I can promise you that."

"I may be questioned as well," Professor Snape reminded, Professor Moses glancing at him.

"That may be true but you can't answer the questions for her," Meriwether glanced back at Kristina. "As uncomfortable as you may feel with the questions. They must be answered by you, and you alone."

"Yes sir," Kristina nodded.

"Alright. We'll do hypothetical questions," Professor Moses told her. "So...okay..." He put his hands together. "Do you swear to tell the truth, nothing but the truth, so help you?"

"Yes sir," Kristina answered.

"Louder, child," Professor Snape told her.

"Yes sir," Kristina answered louder.

"So you've been having problems with a demon. Is it fair to say that it has recently attached to you?" Professor Moses asked.

Kristina bit her lips and hesitated.

"No hesitation," Professor Snape told her. "They'll take the chance to pounce."

"I know it's a difficult one to answer," Professor Moses assured her. "Just tell me. You'll be safe here."

After a couple moments of pause, Kristina shook her head, "No sir...two years ago."

"Did you make the contract with said demon?" Meriwether asked.

Kristina's eye widened, "I didn't tell you guys, did I?"

"What?" Professor Snape stood up.

"Shoot," Meriwether muttered. "What is it?"

"Metatron...he told me my parents were tricked into making the contract for me..." Kristina answered.

"That's not going to look good," Professor Moses sighed.

"Well, it may take some blame off of her shoulders too," Professor McGonagall pointed out.

"Perhaps so," Meriwether agreed. "So how do you answer the interrogator's question, Kristina?"

"Er..." Kristina's face turned red. "No, I never agreed to it?"

"Don't say it like that, but yes," Meriwether nodded.

"No, I never agreed to it," Kristina repeated with more confidence. "I never even knew the demon's intentions until recently."

"Very good," Professor Moses smiled.

As they continued, Professor Snape glanced around in wait of an owl. Something told him it was not going to be good news. When he was not looking, an owl swooped down with a letter attached to her foot. Professor Snape glanced at it and took the letter from her beak.

"Thank you," he thanked.

The owl inclined her head and took off again. Flipping it over, he saw it had the Ministry seal on it. Now he felt the anxiety. The Ministry responded. What did they have to say about her parents? Soon, he had everyone gazing at him and that put more pressure on him.

"Who is it from?" Kristina asked.

"The Ministry..." Professor Snape swallowed hard.

"Open it," Professor McGonagall urged.

"I'm honestly afraid to," Professor Snape frowned. "But..." He peeled the envelope open and began reading.

_Dear Severus Snape,_

_It is with much regret to respond to your owl that Kthalas Magi has died, and Angelina Magi in Azkaban. He went into anaphylactic shock after being forced to drink a truth serum, and she admitted that she made the contract to protect Kristina. Therefore, Kthalas Magi has passed and Angelina Magi is in Azkaban for the moment. I do regret what happened, and there shall be an investigation into Kthalas's death._

_Sincerely, Morgan Crilli_

Professor Snape dropped the letter in horror. After giving himself a few minutes to recover, he stood up slowly, approached Kristina, and embraced her gently. Kristina had no idea what was going on, but she accepted the hug anyways.

"Severus?" Meriwether asked. "Severus, what's wrong? You never act like this!"

"I'm so sorry, Kristina," Professor Snape whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry..."

Kristina clutched his shoulders, "What do you mean? Uncle Severus?"

"It's your father..." Professor Snape answered, much louder than his earlier whisper. "And mother..."

"What?" Kristina asked. "What! Tell me! Don't fuck with me, I've already had two months of hell."

Professor Snape clutched her tighter, "I'm sorry. They...they killed your father."

There was an audible and synchronized gasp coming from the other two teachers.

"Those bastards..." Professor Snape weeped into Kristina's shoulder. "I'm sorry...It's not fair, it's not fair."

Kristina was frozen. How was she supposed to react? She wished she knew. No words crossed her lips, no tears came. After moments of silence and mixed emotions, Kristina grabbed Professor Snape's shoulder tightly and she panted.

"I don't feel good, Severus," she whispered. "I think...I think..."

She let go, doubled over and fought back against vomiting, eventually losing the fight and let go. Professor Snape stepped back, not entirely surprised by the reaction.

"Oh dear," Professor McGonagall remarked.

" _Evanesco_ ," Professor Snape said, pointing his wand at the vomit and making it disappear.

"Why would they do that..." Professor Moses asked.

"I don't know..." Professor Snape responded, helping Kristina back up and holding her again. "I'm sorry, Kristina. I know...I know...I'm sorry."

"Why?!" Kristina screamed. "Why?!"

Professor Snape kept a tight hold on Kristina, ensuring she could not start hitting in case she did that, "I don't know. I really don't know."

"It's...It's not fair!" she sobbed.

"I know, I know," Professor Snape assured her, glancing up at Meriwether and Minerva. "Why now? After she finally got some relief from the demon..."

"I wish I understood it myself, Severus," Professor McGonagall murmured.

"They can't be able to get away with it," Professor Moses muttered.

"The injustice..." Professor McGonagall murmured.

"It is..." Professor Moses agreed.

Professor Snape kept holding Kristina, refusing to let her go. He had one hand on the back of her head and the other on her side. As he comforted Kristina, there was one question that was on everybody's minds: how much more could Kristina take? However, no one could say another word for the rest of the hour as Professor Snape continued comforting Kristina.

X X X

Kristina would not move out of her bed for days, missing more classes. No shower, no food, no homework. Just water, and depression. Eventually, Erin refused to watch her best friend go hungry and forced her to eat chicken and french fries. At first, Kristina was reluctant, however, Erin insisted.

"You can't keep going hungry," Erin told her. "Snape is worried about you. You need to catch up on the homework I brought you. They're giving you until we come back from Solstice break to get it all done."

"I..."

"I have a potion to help you concentrate on schoolwork," Erin told her. "I hate giving it to you because I don't want you relying on it, but the O.W.L.s are this year and you need to get all of this done."

Kristina looked at the plate of food Erin brought and the vial, then she nodded.

"Fine..."

"Thank you," Erin told her.

"I won't be able to go home for solstice," Kristina told her. "My mom isn't there...my dad's fucking dead..."

"I know," Erin told her. "That's why I asked my mom if it was okay for you to stay the two weeks."

"Your mom said I could?" Kristina asked.

Erin nodded, "Of course. She cares about you, too."

Kristina forced a smile, "Thanks..."

"Will you be able to go to classes tomorrow? Please say yes..."

Kristina drank the concentration potion and nodded, "I will...I promise..."

After setting the vial aside, she added, "My father wouldn't want me to do this...or at least keep doing this. I suppose I've had my depression streak, now I have to get up and keep going..."

"Of course," Erin agreed. "I'm here for you, Kris. And so is Snape, McGonagall, and Moses."

"Thanks..." Kristina thanked. "I appreciate it..."

"Of course," Erin smiled.

X X X

When Kristina went back to her classes the following day. It was when she had Professor Snape, and when he saw her, he was more than happy. When Kristina saw him, she raced up to him and hugged him tight. Awkwardly, he did return the hug and he held her until she was able to make herself let go.

"You had me worried sick, child," he told her. "I know, I suppose you needed time to process what had happened...but...Hartnell said you weren't eating, or showering...or even really moving from your bed except to occasionally relieve yourself. Oh, Kristina..."

"I'm sorry," Kristina apologized. "I just...I couldn't handle it..."

"Of course you couldn't," Professor Snape agreed. "Just, you sit down and work on your assignments for me until you are caught up."

"Yes sir," Kristina agreed.

"Do your best on them," he told her. "I know you can do it."

"Yes sir," Kristina nodded, letting go of him and walking to her table. The class was oddly quiet, but that was helpful for Kristina. Things were great, and Kristina was calmly doing her assignments. All were well until half-way through class, when the silence in the room was broken by a couple of Ministry officials barging into the classroom. As soon as she was found, Kristina jumped out of her seat and ran to Professor Snape's side.

"Kristina Astrid-Leigh Magi," the tallest of the group, the same man from a month ago, started. "We must take you in for questioning."

"No," Professor Snape forbade. "She's already missed too much class time, Crilli. You can take her after solstice, when she's not missing class time."

"I do not believe it is your choice, Severus," Morgan Crilli sneered.

"If you want her to pass her O.W.L.s, I would suggest you listen to me," Professor Snape snapped.

"Give us Kristina Magi and you will remain unharmed," Crilli warned.

"She's all I have left," he responded. "No. Absolutely not."

"Yeah," a couple of students agreed.

"Why would you take Kristina after she'd missed her classes?" Valarie asked. "I mean that's kinda not fair."

"It really isn't fair," Erin pointed out.

"Well children, and Severus, life isn't fair," Morgan Crilli snapped.

"Mm," Kristina watched Morgan Crilli draw his wand.

Just as he drew his wand to point at Professor Snape, Kristina drew hers on him.

"You will not harm my uncle," she warned.

"Or what? What'll you do? Sic your demon on me?" Morgan scoffed.

"My demon's gone, you absolute wank of a dark wizard," Kristina snapped.

"Well, if you value your  _cousin_ 's life, then I suggest you come here," Morgan hissed.

Kristina looked at Snape, who shook his head. No, don't go to him the expression told her. Fight back. You know how to. Clenching her teeth, Kristina and Morgan both performed  _flipendo_  at the same exact time. While Morgan was flung backwards onto the floor, so was Professor Snape. Unfortunately for him, he was flung straight back into a bookshelf of potions. The back of Professor Snape's head slammed into the bookcase before the rest of his body, and when it did a flask shattered and a large piece embedded itself in the back of his head. When his body had slammed into the bookcase, he felt a sharp pain go through his ribs. Kristina gasped at Professor Snape.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed.

"No! Uncle Severus!" she cried, keeling down beside him.

"Goddess," Snape winced. "That was...uncalled...for..."

"You should've given her up," Morgan Crilli rasped. "Nothing like getting the wind knocked outta ye. Crikey." He rubbed the back of his head as he tried standing back up. "Okay, now where was I?"

"No," Kristina inched closer to her uncle. Now, she took his head in her hands. "Shit, shit. Severus, you've got a piece of glass..."

"I'm going to take you, Magi," Morgan Crilli demanded.

"No!" Kristina snapped. Then she looked down and sighed, "Not until I know Severus is okay. Fair enough?"

Without waiting for a response, Kristina examined Professor Snape and began trying to pull out the glass as carefully as she could. Kristina could see Professor Snape was struggling to not scream in pain. When the shard was out, Kristina looked at it, noted all the blood, and tossed it aside. Then, she glanced back at Snape and thought about her next move.

"Cast... _episkey_..." he told her. "I know you...are familiar...with how to do it."

Kristina pointed her wand at him and casted  _Episkey_ and for a moment, the Wizengamot detectives raised their wands to stop her. However, Crilli made them put down their wands as he pointed out she was healing Professor Snape with the spell. Silence fell over the room as they watched.

"I shouldn't have fought back, Severus," Kristina told him when his wincing ended. "It got you hurt."

"Yeah, well now I know for a fact that you  _can_ fight back," Snape retorted.

"I think I should go with them," Kristina told him, ignoring his retort. "If not, they'll arrest me and put more charges on my arse than I need right now. And...I don't even know if my mother's alive. Basically you're all I've got left..."

"I know," Professor Snape agreed.

"Yes, if you come with us, we will not charge you with anything else," Morgan Crilli told her.

"Anything else?" Kristina asked.

"Well..." Crilli sighed. "Technically we do not have anything to charge you with, we just have to do our job and interrogation..."

"Fine," Kristina helped her uncle up. "Just please don't hurt him anymore..."

"We won't," Crilli assured.

"Kris, are you sure about this?" Erin asked.

"Yeah..." Kris nodded.

"I really don't trust this," Valarie looked at Erin.

"Neither do I," Erin agreed.

"Neither do I..." Kristina looked at them. "But, I have no other choice. If I resist anymore, I'm going to get everyone hurt...and I just...I can't let that happen."

"You have the heart of a Hufflepuff," Valarie smiled. "You're so kind."

Kristina nodded, "I'll be okay...I guess...I survived the demoness, I survived losing my father. I guess one more obstacle isn't going to kill me."

"That's very brave of you," Professor Snape told her. "I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you," Kristina hugged him.

Before she could let go on her own, one of the detectives grabbed her by her arm and forced her away. Although she had a brave façade, Professor Snape, Valarie, and Erin could all see the fear in her eyes. Somehow, Kristina was positive there would be a problem with the interrogation. And so did everyone else.

"They're dark wizards," Erin noted when they walked out with Kristina.

"How do you know?" Professor Snape asked Erin.

"I don't know, it's just a gut feeling," Erin answered.

"They kind of do have that air of darkness around them," Valarie agreed.

"What do you think they're going to do to Kristina?" Erin asked Professor Snape.

"They're supposed to only interrogate her, and perhaps even put her on trial," Snape explained. "However, considering what they did to her father, I'm not sure. I suspect Crilli killed her father. I am going to write an owl specifically to the Minster of Magic to investigate those men..."

"You really should," Erin agreed.

"Hmph," Professor Snape glared at the doorway. Just like his students, he did not trust what was going on. He knew that something fishy was happening, and it was some kind of scheme against the Magi family. However, the question remained: why? After sneering at his thoughts, he walked away and made the class sit in complete silence until the end of the class. He was in no mood to even lecture.


	13. Bad Company

**Chapter Thirteen:  
** _Bad Company_

Kristina was sitting with her hands in her lap and felt anxious knowing her wand was confiscated until they determined it was safe for her to keep. She examined her surroundings and exhaled deeply. Then, she glanced back at Morgan Crilli and scrutinized his deadpan and neutral posture. Reading his posture and expression was like trying to read a brick wall. However, she found that she could intrude in on his thoughts and examine those. Leaning over, she laced her fingers together and looked at him. Cocking her head to the side, she made sure she understood what he truly was and his motive.

"So you're telling me your demon is  _gone_?" Crilli asked her.

"Yes sir," Kristina nodded, not missing a beat. "An angel was able to intervene and take her before she could cause more harm."

"And you expect me to believe this?" Crilli asked.

"Well...yeah...I'm not making this up," Kristina responded. "I couldn't even if I tried. What would I have in it for me to lie to the Wizengamot? Really? Lie to them? You must be insane." Feeling her heart race, she leaned in closer, keeping eye contact, "But is it fair to say that the Wizengamot can lie to everyone else if it means that innocent people are put to jail? Is it really fair for them to do that?" His mind had all the lies he's told so far.

Crilli tensed, "I'm the one who asks questions here, Miss Magi."

"Yeah, well, I'll answer your questions if you answer mine," Kristina told him. After taking notice on how he tensed when she made her previous remarks, she knew that she had hit a sore spot. "I have more  _interesting_  questions to ask."

"And what makes you think you can get answers from me?" Crilli asked.

"Because I will hunt you down and make sure you lose your job because of the death of my father," Kristina told him. "I'm done being an emotional wreck. I'm done playing games. I will get answers, and I will make sure my father gets the justice he deserves."

The expression on Morgan Crilli's face was that of shock. The shock came from Kristina's sudden change in demeanor: from a timid, scared girl to a serious and determined young adult.

"How do you know I was lying about..."

"A witch never reveals her secrets," Kristina placed a finger on her lips. "So tell me, what  _really_  happened with my father? Oh wait, don't tell me..." She examined his mind. "You were the one to kill my father? After he begged you not to give him the truth serum. Even after he told you what happened."

"How do you know that?" Morgan Crilli snapped at her.

"My father screamed and cried," Kristina continued. "His face was turning blue, he was struggling to breathe. And yet! And yet, you ignored him and tried to get him to tell the truth!"

"Silence!" Crilli slammed his hands on the table, making Kristina jump.

"I hit a sore spot," she teased after she recovered from the initial startle.

"You should not know any of that!" Crilli yelled.

"Well, I do," Kristina flinched at the yell.

"How do you know?" Crilli sneered.

"I'm a learning occlumens and legilimens," Kristina finally yielded. "Don't leave your thoughts uncovered. I've prodded your mind for every bit of information I could get my hands on. I know why you did it, I just wanted to play with you. After all, you did the same thing to my father. I can't tell what you've done to my mother. What, did you leave the other piece of dirty work to another one of your coworkers? You really are a dark wizard. You get your hands dirty and then you get the hands of your coworkers dirty too."

"What do you propose I had done to your mother?" Crilli asked with a sneer.

"Oh, I don't know. Tell her the demon took her daughter's life?" Kristina rolled her eyes.

He stamped his foot, "You shut your mouth and let me do all the talking!"

"No," Kristina raised her eyebrows. "I want to know your motive as to why you thought it was okay to kill my dad."

"I did no such thing!"

"Yes. You. Did." Kristina snapped. "You gave him the truth serum even though he pleaded you not to. Even after he gave you the answer you were looking for."

"Take her to a cell. NOW!" Morgan Crilli yelled.

"You did it because you wanted to take his position, didn't you? Because he got promoted within the Magical Creatures department and you didn't. Because he was going to get to travel around the world and you weren't," Kristina snapped.

"So what if I did?" Crilli asked. "The ministry will never believe you."

"Oh yeah? You want to bet on that?" Kristina asked.

Guards barged into the room and grabbed Kristina by her arms. Angry, she yanked them away.

"No, I can move on my own without restrictions," she snapped.

Crilli's face was red with anger and frustration.

"You are exactly like your father," he panted.

"Maybe you shouldn't have killed him," Kristina raised her eyebrows. "If you didn't want the horns, you shouldn't have messed with the bull. And yet, here we are, Crilli. A 15-year-old Ravenclaw versus a 30-something year old Hufflepuff gone bad. I'll ensure you get placed in Azkaban. Don't you worry a thing. You'll be there in no time."

"They won't believe you," Crilli sneered.

"Yeah? Well, if they don't I can always graduate Hogwarts to become an Auror. You wouldn't want that, now would you? To be able to put away dark wizards like you?" Kristina asked.

"Hold her until the trial," Crilli ordered the guards.

"You don't get anywhere in life by lying," Kristina told him as the guards dragged her away. "Or by destroying other people's lives! You ignorant piece of filth!" And that was when the guard finally got Kristina out of the room. "How do you trust this man? He's a dark wizard! He may not have casted an unforgivavle curse but he killed innocent people just so he could get my father's position. That's not fair! He's tricked people, he's lied to people. He's a disgrace of a wizard."

"That may be your opinion..." the first guard, a sun-kissed tan color wearing green robes.

"It's not an opinion, it's an observation you twit!" Kristina snapped as they dragged her down a hall of court containment cells. "No justice. None at all." She stopped when she caught sight of one particular cell. That was when she started screaming. "Mom! Mom!"

The guards quickly followed her line of sight and rushed her down farther, closer to the entrance of the cell room.

"No! No! Mom! Mom! Mommy! No, you bastards!" she screamed. "I will make you pay!"

Another guard pointed his wand at Kristina and cast ' _petrificus totalus_ ' on her.

"Now stop being a nuisance," the first one hissed as he added another spell, " _Silencio_ " to the mix to shut Kristina up.

Her eyes followed behind them as they drug her to another cell. The image of her mother was the image that would perhaps haunt her until the day she dies.

X X X

"They have to be dark wizards," Professor Snape told Meriwether as he wrote his letter to the Minister of Magic.

"How could you tell?" Professor Moses asked.

"After a couple of my students suggested it, simply by his posture and how he reacted to things, I was able to get a glance into his mind before he left," Professor Snape admitted.

"What did the students say about him?" Professor Moses wondered.

"They said that he and his 'friends' had an air of darkness around them all," Professor Snape answered.

"A Hufflepuff gone bad, I see...Even the best of people can become dark," Professor Moses noted. "Not impossible, but highly unlikely."

"I need to properly write this letter to the Ministry, but I have no idea how to do it without sounding...like a lunatic..." Professor Snape admitted. "I mean, am I supposed to tell them I'm an occlumens?"

"No, Severus," Professor McGonagall shook her head. "You don't reveal that about yourself. You don't need them to know that. Just tell them it's a gut feeling, as you are concerned for the well-being of your cousin considering the light of recent events. And just say you want an inquiry into the death of Kthalas Magi and an investigation on Morgan Crilli."

Professor Snape looked at Professor McGonagall, "Er, thank you for the suggestion, Minerva."

She smiled at him and stalked away. Meriwether grinned at Snape.

"Minerva always has the best responses! Definitely should go ahead with those suggestions," Meriwether told him.

"Perhaps so," Professor Snape agreed, continuing on with his letter to the Minister of Magic.

X X X

Erin listened to the news that night on their radio, feeling angry and seeking out humor to make her feel better. None of it made her feel better, but she was glad to know what was going on. Stephen Cromwell finally had the conversation with Kristina properly edited for the younger audiences, and he was reading his essay which would be in the  _Quibbler_  later on in the month. A sudden thought crossed Erin's mind as she laid in her bed, making her sit up. If she told Stephen Cromwell what she saw in the wizards who took Kristina, perhaps that may begin to cause a collapse of Kristina's case and she could be freed.

However, a concern remained: how could she back up her accusation?  _Didn't Professor Snape say that he caught a couple of their thoughts?_  she wondered. He did. And she knew she needed to write an owl to Stephen Cromwell. Anxious, she ran to their desk and began addressing a letter to the comedian.

_Dear Stephen Cromwell,_

_I am one of your viewers. You interviewed my friend Kristina Magi a bit ago, and today she was taken by a couple of wizard detectives within the Wizengamot to be questioned. I can't tell you much because I'm not an Occlumens, but my teacher Severus Snape can tell you even more than I can and we all suspect that they are dark wizards who have a grudge against the Magi family. Please come to Hogwarts as soon as you possibly can and interview me and my teacher and a few fellow students who were there at the time of the incident. I need the case against Kristina to collapse. Especially because there is something fishy behind her father's death. I plead you, Mister Cromwell. Please come to the school._

_Yours truly, Erin R. Hartnell_

After she finished writing, she quickly dried the ink and sealed the letter for Stephen Cromwell and sighed.

"Just what Kristina needed for Christmas, right God?" she muttered.

The next morning, Erin rushed to the Owlry and kindly asked one of the owls to take the message to Stephen Cromwell. One owl, she realized, was Kristina's owl Ivory. She had not seen the owl all year. Erin reached up to the snowy owl and stroked her feathers.

"Hey Ivory," Erin started. "Haven't seen you all year..."

Ivory simply glowered at Erin, as if she were asking where her human was.

"Kristina's at the Ministry right now, but when she comes back I bet she'll come here and hug you," Erin explained.

Ivory tilted her head.

"Hm, I bet that's why Kris never came here...she was worried about the demon and you..." Erin realized. "I guess. I mean...I wouldn't be surprised."

After glancing around, she saw a few kids looking at her, and probably Filch too.

"Aaaaaand now I seem like a mad woman for having a conversation with my friend's owl..." Erin grumbled, handing the letter to the owl. "Anyway, Ivory, would you be awesome and take this letter to comedian Stephen Cromwell?"

The owl sniffed Erin's hand but took the letter with her beak.

"Thank you so much, this is urgent," Erin told her. "This is to help Kristina's case. I bet Kris misses you. This should help her come back."

The owl bobbed her head in agreement and gave a loud 'hoot' of approval.

"Stephen Cromwell. He's at the  _Quibbler_ headquarters probably right now, trying to help publish his essay on Kristina," Erin reminded.

Ivory hooted and flew off. Erin smiled at her and turned around to walk back for breakfast.

"I hope this plan works the way it's meant to," Erin hoped.

X X X

The next morning, at breakfast, Erin received Stephen Cromwell's response with Ivory. After she retrieved the letter from Ivory's beak, she held up a finger as she dug through her bag for the owl treats she snagged from Kristina's dresser. Just as she finally pulled out the treats, she heard a commotion start up and she began looking around, trying to find the source of the commotion. Standing near the entrance was the comedian Stephen Cromwell. He was holding a notebook, and looking around.

"Which one of you is Erin Hartnell?" he called out across the room.

Erin placed a small handful of treats down in front of Ivory and stood up, "I am Erin Hartnell, sir."

Stephen looked at Erin and gestured her over, "Bring your friends you mentioned. Professor Severus Snape, you as well."

Erin could not help but glanced over at Professor Snape. At first, he appeared confused, however, after he thought about it he understood what was going on and tapped Professor McGonagall and pointed at Professor Moses. He said something to them, but Erin was too far to hear. However, judging by their reactions and standing up, he had asked them to come with him. After she made herself look away, she gathered up Emily, Valarie, and Jordan and brought them to Stephen Cromwell.

"Thank you for coming so fast, Mister Cromwell," Erin thanked him.

"Of course, I did what I had to," he agreed, watching Professor Snape leading his colleagues towards him. "Professor, you brought some colleagues?"

"After some thinking, as I had no idea what was going on, I figured this may be to do with Kristina being taken to the Ministry by the Wizard detectives and I think they had a couple things to say," Professor Snape told him.

"From Erin's urgent letter, I think any help that can be given will be needed," Stephen agreed. "Is there a place we can chat?"

"Potions classroom," Snape answered.

"Excellent idea," Professor Moses agreed.

"Yes, excellent," Professor McGonagall nodded.

"Potions classroom it is, then!" Stephen Cromwell gestured for Snape to lead the way. "By the way, I'm not the only one interviewing you guys. I brought my partners Trevor Noel, and Jon Strange to help as well."

And, Stephen was right. Outside of the hall stood two other men, one with dark skin like Erin's, and the other as white as Stephen. The white man stood shorter than Stephen, with grayer hair and blue eyes. The darker man stood at about the same height as Stephen. Both of the men smiled.

"Thank you guys for coming," Stephen nodded at them. "Trevor, Jon."

The dark man, Trevor Noel, nodded.

"Yeah, no, the arrest was not cool," Trevor agreed, his voice thick with a South African accent. "And not even remotely fair."

"No, it's not," Jon agreed. "And that's why we're here."

"Will you guys be able to do the monologue right after?" Erin asked.

"After some tweaks in grammar and such, yes," Stephen nodded. "At the same time our shows usually are. Bonus points, I talked Xenophilius into publishing it in the  _Quibbler_. Each of our essays. It'll be ready on Wednesday, though. Which is why we can also do these as our monologues."

"Definitely some bonus points there," Professor Moses grinned.

"Yes!" Valarie agreed.

"Valarie?" came a voice. When everybody looked up, they saw Valarie's sister, Victoria, approaching. "Hey, what's going on?"

"We're trying to help get Kris's parents justice, Victoria!" Valarie responded.

"Oooh! I have an idea," Jon started. "How many of her friends knew her parents?"

Everybody exchanged glances.

"I know I know," Erin responded.

"I think Lowgan and Sierra do, too," Emily nodded.

"So does Oliver," Erin added.

"Where's Lowgan, Sierra, and Oliver?" Trevor asked.

"In the Great Hall," Valarie pointed back.

"Victoria, how about you go gather Lowgan, Sierra, and Oliver and take them to the potions classroom?" Jon asked. "I'll interview everyone who knew her parents."

"That's a great idea, Jon!" Stephen remarked.

"Yep, you know where you get the good ideas from," Jon winked.

"Right, uhm. I'll definitely see if I can find them and bring them to the Potions classroom," Victoria nodded and rushed to the Great Hall.

"Okay, so Jon knows exactly what he's doing," Stephen looked at Trevor. "You going to do something similar to what I am?"

"Absolutely," Trevor agreed.

"Great!" Stephen nodded. "Well, let's get to the potions classroom and get this party started!"

X X X

Kristina found herself lying in her cot a third day. Frustration brewed ever so slowly. She wanted out of there. Her mother had hung herself ten cells in the other direction, not even a few hours before she'd gotten there. The need for her friends and uncle grew stronger with her frustration. She wanted to cry, but she was done with the waterworks. Tears were not going to help her anymore at this stage of the game. Even if they could, she could no longer bring them to the surface.

After she's woken up from her slumber, it took some time but she finally recognized the sound of footsteps approaching her cell. She knew it was hers, because there was only one set of footsteps, and she was the only one there. However, after recognizing the footsteps she preferred to not move. Did they not get the hint that she was not hungry? No, she had not eaten in a few days, and she had already lost at least seven pounds, yet she remained not hungry. Though, she did drink the water they brought. That, however, was entirely different.

"Get up, Magi," came a new voice. "You're going to be testifying in the Wizengamot today."

Kristina sat up, "Am I finally going against my cousin?"

"No, that's in another week," the woman, Kristina could tell, shook her head. "Today, it's against Morgan Crilli."

Her eyes widened, "Against Crilli?"

"Yep," the woman cast  _alohomora_  on the lock and opened the door. "Come on out, young'un."


	14. The Devil's Right Beside You

**Chapter Fourteen** :  
 _The Devil's Right Beside You_

Professor Snape breathed a sigh of relief when he got the owl to gather the students who told the comedians and to get them on the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade, then for them all to use floo powder to get to the Ministry. However, he was unaware of what trial this was. As far as he knew, it was to defend Kristina against her cousin Desari. So when everybody arrived at the Wizengamot courtroom, he was surprised to see that Morgan Crilli and his buddies were at the defense table rather than the prosecution table.

"Where's Kristina?" Erin whispered to Professor Moses.

"They may be bringing her out," Professor Moses assured her. "Looks like they took our word and are going to prosecute Crilli."

"As much as I would like to have faith in that," Professor Snape started. "I do not. I believe this may be a ruse...or perhaps they are honestly going to give it a shot."

"That would be nice," Moses agreed.

"It's good to have hope!" Valarie grinned.

"Of course our Hufflepuffs have enthusiasm..." Snape grumbled.

"Thought that's what they're here for?" Emily asked.

Snape sighed at Emily and proceeded to sit down behind the prosecution table. The rest followed him. Erin sat down beside Snape, Meriwether beside Erin, Valarie beside Meriwether, Victoria behind Valarie, Emily behind Snape, and Oliver behind Erin. Soon, they saw Kristina being brought in by a woman wearing a navy blue cape over an elaborate dress and boots.

Professor Snape was horrified by Kristina's thin and disheveled appearance. She was already a thin girl, barely weighing over 105 pounds. But she appeared as if she had not eaten since she left three days prior, paired up with the few days before that when she had not eaten. She must have lost twelve or so pounds altogether!

"Oh my..." he whispered.

"Oh my goodness! Kristina!" Erin yelped.

Professor Snape slapped a hand across Erin's mouth, "Silence!"

"Ouch," Erin mumbled under Snape's hand.

"My poor child..." Snape whispered.

"I bet their food sucked," Valarie whispered.

"No, that's not it, Miss Valerian," Snape responded, examining Kristina's thoughts. "Oh those bastards..."

"Snape actually swears?" Oliver asked.

"Rare occasions, Oliver," Victoria assured him.

"She hasn't eaten because they tricked her mother into killing herself," Snape hissed. "And, somethings cannot be said without vulgarity, Mister Hammond."

"Those bastards," Emily repeated for Snape.

"I believe we have the point, Miss O'Connor," Snape glared.

"She needs to eat," Meriwether told Snape.

"No shit, Sherlock," Professor Snape snapped quietly. Obviously, he was in no mood to watch his language.

The woman led Kristina gently towards the prosecution side. Before she sat down, she glanced at Professor Snape. Now he could closely examine her appearance. Her cheekbones were prominent due to how much weight she lost, her hair was greasy and not nearly as fluffy as it usually was from not being washed for a few days, and her denim blue eyes appeared grey in the lighting of the room. There was an odd illusion in the lighting and her demeanor that made her appear older than fifteen.

"Kristina..." he whispered.

"Severus," her whisper was barely audible.

He reached for her hand and she took it. Although they wanted to speak, neither one spoke a word for a couple minutes. Full silence in the Wizengamot room as they held hands. Even when the defense, Morgan Crilli and his buddies, walked in they did not break eye contact or hand contact. Each of the three defense members were forced to sit down and were tightly bound up by magic. When the leader and jury entered the room, each one adorned with their plum or black Wizengamot robes, that was when they finally stopped so Kristina could sit down.

"Wait, isn't Dumbledore the head warlock?" Erin asked Professor Snape.

"He is, but he has to remain at the school," Professor Snape responded. "So the Minister of Magic takes his place during the school year."

"So, is that the Minister of Magic?" Erin pointed towards the tall man standing at the tall podium.

"Yes," Professor Snape nodded. "Eric Holly. He is likely to not hear the case from Kristina's perspective."

"Why not?" Erin asked.

"He's just as corrupt as those three over there," Professor Snape gestured towards the three men in the center. "However, because of the comedy skits from last night, he must at least attempt to take a look at the case."

"Then why are we here?" Erin asked.

"Courtesy?" Professor Snape wondered. "Not exactly sure..."

"Wow," Erin muttered.

"Indeed."

"Let there be order in the room!" the Minister, Eric Holly, demanded.

Silence once again fell in the courtroom.

"Now generally we don't have a prosecution, however, it seems in this circumstance we must have the accusers to present their side," Eric sighed. It was obvious that he was reluctant about allowing it. "Here are the defendants, Morgan Crilli, Henry Kaile, and Matthew Baird. The accusers are Kristina Magi, Severus Snape, Erin Hartnell, Meriwether Moses, Victoria and Valarie Valerian, Emily O'Connor, and Oliver Hammond. The accusation is that our defendants here have murdered Kthalas Magi, and tricked Angelina Magi into killing herself. How do our accused plead?"

"We plead innocence, Minister," Morgan Crilli smirked.

"So tell us, from your perspective, exactly what happened," Eric ordered.

"Well, you see," Henry started, reluctantly. He had not gotten himself to believe he was innocent. Neither did Matthew.

"Henry, let me do all the talking," Morgan told him, then looked up at Eric. "We were unaware that Kthalas was allergic to the truth serum, sir. So when we gave it to him, we weren't expecting the anaphylaxis. However, he told us that he'd rather die than to let us harm his daughter, so...that happened."

Kristina stood up quickly, making herself dizzy. After she recovered, she slammed her hands down, "That is an absolute lie! Worst one I've ever heard."

"Kristina, sit your ass down," he ordered.

"I will silence you if you do not shut your mouth!" Eric yelled at Kristina.

Kristina glared at the man but sat back down.

" _Don't do anything you will regret_ ," Professor Snape planted the warning in her mind.

" _But he's outright lying!_ " Kristina protested.

" _They can't do legilimency like we can, Kristina_ ," Professor Snape told her. " _And they're required to at least give them a trial. Innocent until proven otherwise..._ "

"Bullshit..." Kristina muttered. "I could easily prove he's not innocent..."

"Sir, I feel threatened by Miss Magi," Morgan sneered. "She's known for her violent outbursts, as you just saw."

"Violent?" Kristina asked.

"Silence!"

"She's a learning legilimens and can penetrate my every thought," Morgan told him. "She's implanted false memories."

"I did no such thing!" Kristina argued.

"If you do not calm down, I will put you back in your holding cell and you can continue to miss school," Eric warned.

Professor Snape muttered, " _Silencio_ " and made Kristina shut up. The Wizengamot case continued.

"Implanting false memories?" Eric asked. "I do not believe that would be possible at a young witch's level, Crilli."

"She's insanely smart, and she's a cunning little thing," Morgan told him. "Don't let her confuse you. Her whole personality is a ruse."

Kristina tried cussing out Morgan Crilli, but that was not about to happen without her voice. Again. After she took a calm breath, she reminded herself it may be a good thing that  _silencio_  was cast upon her. She relaxed a little bit and continued watching.

"Can either of you agree on what Crilli said?" Eric asked the other two men.

"Actually not really," Matthew shook his head. "Then again, we had less time with her than Crilli did. He had more time, so perhaps it is true. We don't know."

"Do you three have any witnesses by chance?" Eric asked.

"Nope, not really," Henry shook his head.

"Alright," Eric glanced at Erin. "Erin Hartnell, do you swear to uphold the truth?"

"Yes sir," Erin nodded, standing up.

"What is your take on the issue?" Eric asked.

"From a neutral standpoint, I believe that all three men are lying to get Kristina to lose credibility," Erin started. "Although, I do not know or understand why they would have such a grudge against a 15-year-old but, people are crazy, ya know? Anyway. They exaggerated her demonic abilities, and still think she is possessed by said demon, which by the way is untrue. The demon, Victoria Clyde, was taken back to hell by a Seraphim." She paused, "Er, I digress."

"Okay, yeah..." Eric sighed. "Uhm...you, Oliver Hammond, what is your take?"

Annoyed, Erin sat back down and Oliver stood up.

"Uhm so like, I agree with Erin's assessment on the issue," Oliver blushed. "Kris would never drop so low as to implant false memories, or to hurt people. She always tells the truth, whether it's a difficult truth or not."

"Hm..." Eric looked at the other members and declared, "I call a recess! We shall see who is in the right..."

When they all looked away to talk amongst themselves, Kristina turned to Professor Snape and he reversed the spell he cast earlier.

"Uncle Severus," Kristina started. "I think they believe him."

"Considering they hardly allowed your friends to respond," Professor Snape grumbled. "I think they had in against you..."

"Which is not fair," Kristina told him.

"No, it's not..." Professor Snape agreed. "However, I believe they may perhaps let you come back to school and we could return for Whitney's retrial with this information. That one, you may stand a chance with."

"Yeah, now that the damn demon's gone, thank you Metatron," Kristina muttered.

"If we can get you back to the school, you are to immediately eat. I don't care what it is, just...stop starving yourself!" Professor Snape insisted.

"Their food sucked and I was sick to my stomach," Kristina reasoned.

"Well, I don't see an lying in your thoughts...so I suppose you get a couple points back for that..." Professor Snape sighed.

"Considering now my last image of my mother is her hanging by a noose in a jail cell..." Kristina snapped. "I think I had every right to be sick to my stomach."

"Kristina, calm down," Professor Snape ordered her. "There is no need to give me an attitude."

"Professor, she's grieving," Erin reminded.

"Yes, Severus, she's grieving," Professor Moses told him. "She's acting just like you when you were grieving for—" He paused and resumed with, "Your friend..."

"Yeah, she got that attitude from you!" Victoria grinned.

"I was not..." Professor Snape trailed off.

"Yes, you were," Professor Moses told him sternly. "Don't act like you weren't...we all saw it."

Professor Snape looked at Kristina and sighed, "I'm sorry."

Kristina wiped at her face, "Yeah..."

The Minister of Magic silenced the room again with another booming, "Silence!"

After silence once again fell, he cleared his throat and followed up with, "We do not see any fault in the defendant. However, we do believe he unfairly detained Magi, and she shall return to school for the remainder of this semester. On the day school lets out for the holidays, I demand each and every one of you who came to her defense today to be brought back for the last trial, to see if her cousin Desari Whitney will remain in Azkaban."

Well, Snape was definitely right: she would be allowed to return to school for the next week.

"That is all. You are all dismissed," Eric Holly waved his hand.

"Wow, that was not much of a trial," Kristina mumbled.

"What did you expect?" Professor Snape asked, standing up and helping Kristina to her feet.

"Dunno. Some crime show or something?" Kristina wondered.

Snape shook his head and led her away from the Wizengamot, glaring over his shoulder at Crilli. Unexpectedly, he caught a glimpse of evil, red, devilish eyes staring back at him.

"Oh what in the..." Professor Snape wondered.

"What?" Erin looked at her professor.

"His eyes..." he muttered, looking back at the group of students, and Professor Moses. "They were red. Like a demon's. Like..."

"Victoria Clyde's?" Victoria asked.

Professor Snape nodded.

"I think she took over Crilli," Snape told them.

"But, how?" Kristina asked. "Metatron took her. I watched him."

"I don't know, but there can't be another explanation," Snape responded. "I mean, that look was not any one else's. That had to have been Clyde."

"What do we do now?" Kristina asked as they exited the Ministry.

"We wait. There's nothing else that can be done..." Snape sighed.

X X X

Professor Snape sat with Kristina and Erin at the supper table that night and watched Kristina slowly eat her steak, rice, and veggies for supper. Slowly she was beginning to regain her strength, and slowly beginning to look like herself once again. Thoughts of how he was going to ensure Kristina had a place to stay swarmed in his mind. His parents  _did_ leave their house to him so he would not have to buy one after school. He just never really wanted to move back in from all the bad memories. However, it would be conducive to him and Kristina, and perhaps he could make better memories there. Or, together they could just sage the place of all the negative energy associated with his father.

"Kristina..." he started. "How would you like to...move into my parents' old home during the winter break? Perhaps that way, you don't have much to concern yourself with when the summer holidays begin?"

Kristina looked up at him. Although her face remained still, her eyes pleaded her 'yes', and then she spoke the yes. Professor Snape nodded.

"Right after your cousin's trial," he told her.

"Yes, Severus," Kristina nodded. "Wait...what about Kismet and Snarf? I can't lose them. Not after losing my parents."

"Hm, that is a concern," Professor Snape started. "They must be out of food by now, unless...your parents charmed their food bowl into refilling every 8 or 12 hours... I'll talk Dumbledore into seeing if he could feed them, or bring them here... or something... It can't hurt, as it'd only be a week..."

"Well, sorta..." Kristina sighed. "I'd have to bring them back too. That's a lot of...cat...to carry...And Kismet is mean to Snarf. I wouldn't be able to carry both of them in my arms."

"That's a predicament," Professor Snape sighed.

"I'll take Snarf," Erin offered. "And during the holidays you can have Snarf back. That way, you can still have your cats and Ivory, but they won't end up alone at home."

"Alright," Professor Snape rose to his feet. "I'll go talk to Dumbledore into checking on them and, or, bringing them. I am sure he would be kind enough as to do so. Or, someone. Someone must be able to do it."

"Right..." Kristina nodded.

Professor Snape put a gentle hand on her head and then walked off to talk to Dumbledore.

"Have kids' parents died before at Hogwarts?" Kristina asked Erin.

"Dunno, most likely," Erin shrugged. "I mean, over six hundred years or so, tens of thousands of students, somebody's gotta have lost their parents at some point. I'd be surprised if you were the first."

"Well, I bet I'm the first to lose mine to dark wizards within the Ministry..." Kristina mumbled. "Several who've lost their parents to You-Know-Who, a couple of students have parents in Azkaban because of working with You-Know-Who, then of course the Bubonic Plague probably wiped out some wizards and wizard families..."

"Well, that's true," Erin nodded. "Dark wizards are not common within the Ministry. You think Morgan Crilli worked for You-Know-Who?"

"No," Kristina shook her head. "No, he didn't. Rather than that, he is a lone wolf."

"Ew, lone wolves can sometimes be more dangerous," Erin commented.

"They are," Kristina agreed.

"Did you figure out any of his motivation?" Erin asked.

"Uhm, well, I think his motivation was my father's position within the Magical Creatures department," Kristina told her. "From what I saw in his thoughts, I think he wanted to have control over magical creatures, which would also mean control over demons, and then he could make a demonic army to serve him as he takes out muggle-borns."

"What's his grudge against them?" Erin asked.

"Uhm, I think he was turned down by one," Kristina muttered.

"Oh, so your stereotypical jerk who got turned down by a girl and now has a grudge against all girls, stemmed possibly from mummy-issues?" Erin asked.

"Well...that's one way to put it, but sure," Kristina sipped her soup's broth.

Erin grinned, "Well, I was trying to make you laugh."

Kristina nodded, "It was kinda funny."

"I'll just keep trying," Erin shrugged.

X X X

The next morning, Kristina got out of bed, showered, and prepared for her classes for the day. She made sure she had what she had started last week ready to turn in, plus a little more. After having everything in her bag, she heard someone approaching her and Erin's room. And it was not Erin, as she was still in the shower. When she turned around, she saw Dumbledore standing in the doorway. She blinked in disbelief.

"Professor, I—" She caught sight of what he was holding. "Oh my gods!"

She ran up to him and took her cats from his arms and clutched them, crying. However, they were not tears of sadness. They were tears of joy.

"My cats!" she cried. "My little babies!"

Dumbledore smiled, "You are permitted to have them with you here at Hogwarts, even with your owl, as you are a special case after having lost your parents. With that, there is nobody else to take care of them and I know you are deeply attached to them, and so you would never consider setting them up for adoption."

"Thank you so much, Professor!" she cried. "My littles. I'm so glad you two are still alive."

He beamed with pride, seeing as how he was able to at least cheer up Kristina after all that she had been through so far. Dumbledore chuckled at the faces both cats were making. They both had the, "Oh dear gods, release us from this prison!" expression written on their faces. Kismet, the eldest cat, was a blue-grey elder cat with brilliant jade eyes and a bit of a round tummy. Snarf, the youngest, was a long tabby tom with grey, black, and white in his fur. He had full white on his muzzle, his paws, and his chest. Like Kismet, he had jade-green eyes with flecks of brown in them.

After she finally stopped crying, Kristina set her fur-children down on the ground and the eldest began winding around her legs while the youngest darted under her bed. Kristina wiped at her face and sniffled.

"Thank you so much, Professor," she told him. "I don't know what I'd do without my fur children."

"Of course," he told her. "It was no problem getting them from your parents' house. I understand a pet owner's feelings about their animals all too well. I would be worried about Fawkes like you would with Kismet and Snarf and Ivory."

Kismet stopped winding around Kristina's legs and began rubbing her scent on every piece of furniture and clothing she possibly could.

"I-I need cat food," she realized. "I have owl food, but no cat food..."

"I took care of that problem as well," he assured her, pointing his wand and making a bag of cat food appear on her and Erin's desk. "It was the healthiest food I could find for them, as I took notice of what your folks fed the cats."

"Thank you, sir," Kristina thanked him. "I-I don't know how to ever repay you for your kindness."

"Oh! No need, other with excellent O.W.L.s," he told her. "And N.E.W.T.s. I know you will do well on those, but those would be appreciated as repayment, Miss Magi."

Kristina smiled, "Again, thank you, sir!"

When Dumbledore turned to leave, Kismet finally decided that she had more than enough time to rub her scent on Kristina and Erin's things, and hopped up on the bed that smelled like Kristina's and began kneading her royal blue blanket. Kristina approached her and hovered her face by Kismet's face. Purring, Kismet sniffed her face and booped her nose with her face while, at the same time, Kristina planted a kiss on Kismet's nose.

"Thank you, sweetheart..." Kristina told her. "It's been a rough couple months without you..."

Kismet purred and began crouching down to tuck her paws under her chest.

"Good girl..."


	15. Before The Trial

**Chapter Fifteen:  
** _Before The Trial_

Kristina caught up halfway between all of her classes by the time Winter Break finally started. She was thankful her teachers were understanding and generous to allow her time to catch up. Not many children went through what she was, they had to admit. She and Erin utilized the library, where there were zero distractions and plenty of resources available to them. They spent many hours there, studious. Madam Prince seemingly appreciated their studiousness in her library, and the fact that they knew how to use inside voices, unlike certain Weasley children. ("Talking about you two, Bill and Charlie", Madam Prince had said once that week). The girls giggled at the librarian as she scolded the Weasleys for their loud behavior. They had to admit, though, that Bill and Charlie were pretty cool people. Bill even offered to help Erin tutor Kristina and catch her up, however, they declined as they had it handled.

Each night, Kristina was happy to curl back up in bed with her two fur children, Snarf and Kismet. Even one night, she had Ivory in her room, nesting beside her because the owl missed Kristina. Kismet was in a doughnut shape, curled up against Kristina's stomach. Snarf remained at the foot of her bed, ready to dart back under at a moment's notice if Erin were to even glance in his direction. He did cry at night, wondering where in the world his favorite human (Kthalas) was. Kristina, despite knowing the cat could not understand her, tried to soothe him and told him that his human would never come home again. Not because he did not love the cat, but because he was cruelly taken too early. Snarf did not appreciate being told any of this.

Professor Snape spent the week trying to figure out how in the world could a demon escape the grasps of a Seraphim, the highest choir of angel. A powerful angel who could take hold of a demon and keep them from ever returning to the human plane of existence. At least, that's how it was supposed to be. Victoria Clyde should not have been able to escape Metatron's grasp. After reading a couple of books on demons, again, and then reading about angels afterwards, by the end of the week he could only come to the conclusion that she bamboozled poor Metatron into thinking he had the real demon. He wished he could understand more, but without knowing the full story, he could only guess as to what had happened between Metatron and Victoria Clyde.

When the winter holidays started, Kristina, Professors Snape, Moses, and McGonagall, plus Erin, Jordan, Oliver, and Emily all were held back at school to be taken to the Ministry the next day. They were promised that they would get to go home after the trial. Kristina, personally, was not looking forward to it. She knew that the Minister would have it in for her, because he obviously would rather believe the guy who killed her parents rather than her. What chance was she going to have against her now-adult cousin who cursed her? Then again, she had to admit, it would be rather hard for him to disagree with the cousin for casting  _unforgivable_  curses on someone. Nobody got away from that. Even in retrials, which Kristina knew was very rare.

"Retrials in general are rare," Erin commented as they got ready for the night. They were to meet early in the morning so the Hogwarts Express could take them to London. Separate from the students going home. The Ministry officials did not want anyone forgetting and getting off with their parents.

"I don't know why they're even going to try this," Kristina responded, closing the door before Kismet could stalk back out again. "I mean, unforgivable curses are unforgivable curses. You don't cast those on people. Casting one is bad enough, casting two is even worse!"

"I guess they just want to make sure that she wasn't having to defend herself from you," Erin shrugged.

"Well, I can tell you that she wouldn't need to "defend herself" from me if she just stayed away from me..." Kristina rolled her eyes.

"Well, I  _know_  that," Erin agreed.

"But for whatever reason possessed her, she just had to be all up in my business...like a cat, except less endearing and adorable," Kristina frowned, scratching behind Kismet's ear and then moved to scratch her cheek and then her chin. Kismet began purring loudly and Kristina kissed her head. "Yes, you are adorable, Kismet."

"You know, Professor Snape should so have a cat," Erin told her.

Kristina shrugged, "Maybe. Not mine though. He doesn't really like Kismet, and she doesn't really like him either."

"Why?" Erin asked.

"Dunno," Kris shrugged. "She's a weird cat, ya know."

"True," Erin agreed, moving towards her bed.

Snarf tensed, but for once did not dart back under the bed. Kristina reached to pet him and gently stroked his head.

"It's okay, Snarf...Good boy!"

Snarf hopped off of Kristina's bed and meowed at his empty wet food bowl. Sighing, Kristina waved her wand to open a can for him and then  _evanesco_ to get rid of the can. Immediately, he crouched down and began eating. Kismet chose to remain in bed, unperturbed by the sound of a can opening and the smell of food.

"There, you have food. Quit whining," she muttered.

"So are we going to get them into their cages tomorrow morning?" Erin asked.

"Yeah...they need to come with us..." Kristina nodded.

"Do you and Professor Snape want any help moving your stuff afterwards?" Erin asked. "My mom and I could offer help."

"Thank you," Kristina nodded. "It would be appreciated."

"Of course," Erin smiled. "Well. I suppose we should go to bed. Get some rest for tomorrow."

"Rest for the weary..." Kristina mused.

"Think the phrase is actually 'no rest for the weary'," Erin muttered.

"Whatever, I don't care..." Kristina muttered. "Not right now, anyway."

"Alright, night," Erin told her.

"Night..." Kristina crawled under her covers.

X X X

When everyone woke up the next morning, they ate a quick breakfast and boarded the Hogwarts Express following breakfast. Everybody had their things ready to go and Kristina boarded first with Professor Snape and Erin. They sat together and Kristina sat with her back against Professor Snape's side. She thought about her words last night to Erin, " _unforgivable curses are unforgivable curses. You don't cast those on people. Casting one is bad enough, casting two is even worse_!" Was she right about that? Would the Ministry see it the same exact way, like they were supposed to? Will justice be served once again and keep Kristina free? Not like she really asked for this, anyway.

When they arrived at the Platform 9 3/4, the group of students took their things and exited the train. Waiting for them were a couple of Ministry officials, including Morgan Crilli. Kristina sneered at him, and he returned the look.

"Why's he here?" Kristina asked Snape hotly.

"They didn't fire him, Kristina," he reminded. "Therefore they will continue to send him to work on cases. Even yours, although I personally would not have done so due to the issues."

"But you know he's got the demon," Kristina told him. "Especially with it possibly being Victoria Clyde."

"Indeed," Professor Snape agreed. "Do not fret yourself, Kristina. I will not allow them near you. We will just go with this nice gentleman right here."

Kristina looked up and saw a scarred wizard holding his hand out to escort them to the Ministry car. Or, rather Limo. How nice. And comfy. And totally discreet, Kristina mused. Then again, they could be muggles going to a hell of a wedding. She remembered reading about a couple of muggles doing something similar with their wedding. No clue who they were but she understood that muggles were...well...weird.

"Totally discreet, but hey looks comfy!" Erin commented.

"We're riding in style," responded the man escorting Kristina and Snape. "Because that is how it goes in the Ministry."

"What, are you trying to sucker up to us?" Jordan wondered.

"I mean it's not gonna wo—OOOOOH COOKIES!" Oliver jumped into the limo and grabbed the platter of cookies. Most everyone else slapped a hand on their face in response.

"Really now?" Professor Snape sighed, following after him and sitting awkwardly by the window. Kristina slid in after Snape and squished herself in between Snape and after her, Meriwether. Erin was next, and then on the other side Oliver sat down, followed by Jordan, Professor McGonagall, and Emily. In the back few rows, the driver and Ministry officials kindly placed their things inside, even being courteous as to buckle in the animals that were there. Kristina could hear Snarf once again crying in fear, which was when Professor Snape turned around and cast a spell to soothe the poor cat's nerves.

When the vehicle began moving, Erin had to order everyone to buckle in so that they did not fly out if there were to be a crash.

"Crashes happen?" Kristina asked.

"Uhm, yeah, Kris," Erin raised her eyebrows. "That accounts for a lot of muggle deaths. And muggle-borns too. Sometimes half-bloods. Rarely purebloods... A lot of people die in crashes because they weren't wearing seat belts."

"Oh..." Kristina and Professor Snape both quickly moved to buckle in.

"I can tell you, it's not pretty..." Erin told them.

"So!" Kristina quickly changed the subject. "Uhm...yeah let's just not talk about that..."

The limo fell silent except for the engine. Kristina rested her head on Snape's shoulder as they passed through the streets of London. Street lamps above them were lit with orange light bulbs, or at least that was how the light appeared to them. Many other vehicles zoomed by them as well as pedestrians simply walking by them. Families of muggles, blissfully unaware of wizards lurking in their midst, crossing the streets, walking into shops, homes, and restaurants, and trekking the sidewalks. Perhaps one or two joggers, someone riding a bicycle past them. Dogs barked outside of the limo while cats peacefully lay in windowsills. Crows lined up on powerlines, chattering with their fellows. In the distance, the sky was growing redder and darker as the sun set on the horizon.

It was growing colder, they noticed. Kristina felt the cold air seeping into the limo and she pressed herself closer to Snape, attempting to warm up. He placed an arm over her shoulders and used his body heat to warm her up. Soon, the other two teachers and students found themselves clinging to one another to warm up.

"Isn't there a heater in here?!" Oliver asked the driver through the window.

"It's broke," the man responded. "Don't worry, we're almost at the Ministry."

"We better be," Oliver grumbled, looking back at his hands.

"While traffic is still awful..." came a voice. Everyone looked and saw Metatron now crouched on the floor. He was not there before! "I've got an issue with one of these men, he has the demon Victoria Clyde. I—"

"Okay, how the hell did you get in here?" Oliver asked. "There was no way..."

"I'm an angel, I do the impossible," Metatron reminded. "Well...I thought I could..." He jerked his head towards the back part of the limo, "Until the beast Victoria Clyde decided to be a slippery thing and take over another wizard."

"How could that even happen?" Professor Snape asked in a low voice. "You're a seraphim. She's a demon."

"Angels don't have the ability to read into the minds of demons like they do most other creatures," Metatron sighed. "That is how you get the muggle possessions you see in movie theaters. Oh wait, no you don't see those. Although, I'm sure you've heard of a few of those stories. Suppose that's why wizards are generally smarter than muggles, because they don't rely on movies to learn about stuff." He paused and then changed back to the original subject, "Angels can't stop demons fully, though. They do use glamours—illusions—to make the angel think they caught them. I thought she'd used her one glamour of the year already. I was wrong. They can only use an illusion once a year, more or less. It's a long story, and we don't have a lot of time for that."

"But wait, she would know you were there," Oliver pointed out. "Doesn't that mess things up for you?"

"I've a hat," Metatron responded.

"Yeah, but demons have a great sense of smell," Kristina told him. "It wouldn't work. She'd be able to sniff you out!"

"Wait..." Metatron furrowed his eyebrows. "Shit, I did not think of that. I forget, God did not create the demons. So She can't tell me anything about them and I get to learn something new every time...I learned the glamour one a couple of centuries ago. I did not know that they had a great sense of smell."

"Well, luckily you do now," Professor McGonagall assured him.

"So, what's the new plan?" Professor Moses asked.

"Well, I'm...I'm going to go work on that...Good luck with the trial, I believe you'll do fine, Kristina," Metatron appeared glum but determined to get the demon before she disappeared on him. Suddenly, Metatron snapped his fingers and disappeared right when they had finally arrived at the Ministry of Magic.

"We're here," came the voice of the driver.

"So how is this gonna work?" Kristina wondered under her breath as Professor Snape opened the door to get out of the cramped back seats. Kristina followed behind him and stood up, stretching.

Professor Snape shrugged. Not like he had any idea about how trials during the school year would work. When he turned around, he saw the driver stepping out and circling around to help the rest get out.

"They have manners," Professor Snape commented quietly to Kristina.

"That's a surprise," Kristina grumbled.

"Yeah, really..." Snape agreed.

"Well, off to the Wizengamot," muttered the driver, gesturing for them to follow him. After getting through security, having their wands checked and everything, they were cleared to go to the Wizengamot. They all took the stairs and followed the Ministry officials up until they got to the tenth level. When they arrived, the Wizengamot court was already together and waiting on them to come.

"You dozen are late," commented Eric Holly.

"Well, London traffic is not the best," reminded the driver. "Here are your witnesses and the officials. I delivered them like I promised. I never promised to do so on time because of how London traffic is. Muggles...muggles are awful drivers. Sorry, not really."

"Fine," Eric waved his hand in dismissal. "Go on, Relius."

"Of course, sir," Relius inclined his head and turned to Kristina. "I hope things go well for you."

"Thank you?" Kristina raised an eyebrow.

"I'm on your side," he assured her in a hushed voice.

"Thank you, I suppose," Kristina was taken aback, however, she did her best to not show it.

When she returned her gaze to the scene before her, she noticed that her cousin Desari was restrained in the chair in the center of the room this time rather than Kristina herself. Desari Whitney, whose hair was still slightly red from when she dyed it a few years ago but rather faint and mostly back to brown again, glanced at her cousins. She was still wearing glasses—a pair of blue wire frame glasses—and was wearing a tattered version of her casual clothes she wore her last day at Hogwarts. Her pale face was sunken in a bit and her chocolate eyes showed years of distress worse than what they had been before they met. Desari glared at Kristina with disdain but said nothing to her. Although, Kristina rudely peeked into her mind and saw the insults that her cousin wished she could shout at her.

Kristina practiced her occlumency and closed her mind off to her cousin and blocked out her cousin's thoughts. She did not need the negativity of her mind right now, even though she surely could feel the negativity. Well, perhaps if Desari could learn how to keep her jealousy to herself, she might not have been in this mess to begin with. Kristina had to remind herself that Desari was not her, and what Desari did to her does not define her. And neither did what Victoria Clyde did to her. Though, that did not stop the tension from growing between the two girls. Despite Kristina's best efforts, the tension continued growing. Without thinking, Kristina clutched Professor Snape's hand and pressed herself into him, mentally begging for the negative tension to end.

" _You're going to be fine_ ," he assured her.

"I know," Kristina muttered under her breath.

"Sit down," Eric Holly demanded.

Everybody quietly obeyed and sat down in the stands. Kristina could not help but make eye contact with Desari again, despite her not really wanting to. She knew that Desari was still angry at her. Angry, jealous, and disdainful. Kristina always had a better life than Desari, and Desari wished she could have taken it from her and show Kristina what it was like being in Desari's shoes for her first 17 years of life. Unlike Desari, Kristina understood that was how the fates worked and there was perhaps a reason they ended up in two different types of life. Kristina would not trade what she had for the word, but she wished Desari could have had a similar life rather than the one she did. Perhaps then, they would have gotten along better. However, that was because Kristina was a kind person despite what she had been through with her cousin. If she were not the way she was, she may not have wished for it to have been different for Desari.

"This is a disciplinary hearing of the twenty-second of December into the offenses of casting unforgivable curses by Desari Lyndsey Whitney," Eric Holly started and then began introducing the members of the Wizengamot. As he finished, he gestured at the group to introduce themselves, again but for another time.

"Witnesses against the defense," Kristina introduced, attempting to bring herself confidence. "Kristina Astrid-Leigh Magi."

"Severus Snape," Professor Snape introduced.

"Minerva McGonagall," Professor McGonagall added softly.

"Meriwether Moses," Professor Moses nodded.

"Oliver Myles Hammond," Oliver added much more confidently than Kristina could.

"Erin Azariah Hartnell," Erin introduced.

"Jordan Miranda Campbell," Jordan added confidently.

"Emily Reagan O'Connor," Emily added.

"Court now may begin," Eric stated.


	16. The Retrial

**Chapter Sixteen:  
** _The Retrial_

"So tell us, Miss Whitney, why you decided that you needed to defend yourself from Kristina Magi?" Eric Holly asked.

"Well, it all started that August," Desari started. "I moved in with my uncle Kthalas, aunt Angie, their daughter Kristina, and their friend Professor Snape. Kristina seemed really cool, you know? Liking a lot of the same music I did, fascinated with different aspects of magic, interested in learning whatever she possibly could. Drawing. Writing. How much cooler could this girl be? As the weeks progressed before we headed off to school for the year, Kristina started demanding space and yelled at me for leaving my clothing on her floor and even taking some of her socks. Well, how was I supposed to know those were her socks? They were on the floor by the bed and I—"

"Get to the point, Miss Whitney!" Eric Holly snapped at her.

Desari sighed, "Right, okay. So we've had several conflicts those few months. What led up to the first two incidents was conflict over her room..."

"You know, I'm going to let you gather your thoughts," Eric sighed. "Gather your thoughts, Miss Whitney. Do not tell stories. Miss Magi, how about you offer your side first instead?"

"Right..." Kristina tried to speak up and keep her voice steady. "As my...cousin...mentioned, we did have many conflicts. The more relevant of the conflicts was the month leading up to the incident. Desari knows I have my boundaries, and so did the other three students in our room. There were definitely some issues. Most importantly, she was dictating to everyone where things should go in our room, and reorganizing everything. I could not find any of my school supplies for a few days until I finally got her to tell me where my stuff was. She moved all of my school stuff into my best friend's room, and she had no idea that my stuff was there either. With that, I decided to trade with Erin's roommate and we switched rooms.

"Well, apparently that set Desari off and caused her to spite me even more," Kristina appeared uneasy but her voice was still going strong. "She would corner me and tell me that I'm weak and never going to get far in my career because I'll be dead because I can't handle things the way she does. She would tell me that there was no way I would make it in the world with how I was. I was 'fragile' and too 'child-like'. I told Professor Snape and he gave her detention for bullying me. Later on, she was outraged that I got a 100 on a few of our tests in other classes and she didn't. She was confused as to how I got the grades I did because, according to her, I never studied and I never paid attention in classes."

"Well, it's true," Desari muttered under her breath.

"Silence!" Eric exclaimed at Desari.

"Professor Snape gave her detention again for interrupting class, and I slapped her across the face for trying to touch me. Not that I had meant to slap her, that really only happened," Kristina continued. "Moving on to a couple nights later, I was doing homework when she suddenly cast the imperius curse on me. She made me do her homework. I don't remember very much, but I know that's what Erin told me. I recommend asking her all about what happened during that time."

"Miss Hartnell, care to share?" Eric asked.

Erin nodded, "Well, I noticed something was wrong with Kristina when she did not actually go to bed that night. When I found her, she was still doing homework and it was for Desari. She brought the homework to Desari and she thanked her for doing the assignment. Well, Kristina left and I confronted Desari about it. She told me that if I dared to tell anyone, she would hurt Kristina. Well, I was in a conflict then because if I was kind of screwed either which way. So the next morning, I decided to find Professor Snape and I told him what Desari was doing to Kristina. He told me to bring Kristina to him and he confirmed that Desari had cast imperius. He undid the spell on Kristina, but when Desari came downstairs she cast cruciatus on Kristina next.

"Suddenly, Kristina was on the floor," Erin continued. "If I may describe how it looked, Kristina's eyes were wide, she was shaking, writhing in agony, drool dripping from her mouth as she struggled to handle the pain. Professor Snape had knelt down and began undoing the cruciatus curse as well to stop Kristina's agony. Professor Moses came to the scene and he tried to distract Desari to keep her from attacking Professor Snape too. She cast the knock-back jinx on Professor Moses and Professor McGonagall cast a body-bind on Desari to stop her from harming anybody else.

"And that was when Dumbledore arrived at the scene to punish Desari," Erin finished.

"Miss Whitney, is any of this true?" Eric asked.

"Yes," Desari admitted reluctantly.

"Now, for the main reason we are here again today," Eric sighed. "Kristina Magi had a demon attached to her. Is this correct, Professor Snape?"

Professor Snape nodded, "Yes sir, it is correct."

"It was mentioned last time that the demon is no longer with her, is this also correct, Professor?" Eric asked.

"Yes sir, that is also correct," Professor Snape nodded in agreement.

"Care to explain how that is possible?" Eric asked.

"Of course," Professor Snape sneered. "You see, my dearest niece has a connection with a Seraphim, the highest choir of angel. Said Seraphim is the Voice of God, or at least the voice of many of the gods out there, Metatron. He appeared in the Great Hall a couple of weeks ago and helped her to defeat the demon. However, that was what we thought had happened. The demon left him a glamour—an illusion—to take and therefore she was no longer there. However, she could no longer return to Kristina after the incident because she knew Metatron would be back again if it was her."

"Miss Magi, how long was the demon with you?" Eric asked.

"Two years, supposedly..." Kristina answered hesitantly.

"Did you ever know she was there?" Eric wondered.

"No sir, I did not," Kristina shook her head. "Not until October of this year. She never showed herself until then. Well, it did not help that a fellow student was bullying me. Perhaps she did trigger the demon's appearances in recent months, however, I had no control over the demon."

"Morgan Crilli stated that your parents were the ones to have made the contract with the demon," Eric began. "Is this true?"

"Yes sir..." Kristina's voice trembled as she thought about her parents once again. "I-I had nothing to do with the contract. I learned that they were tricked into it, thinking that the demon would protect me from people like Desari. Instead...I think it made things worse...and killed my credibility." She shook her head, "I don't blame them though, if anyone is wondering. I know they were trying to help me..." Tears formed in her eyes, "I'm sorry, this is difficult to talk about..." Professor Snape put a gentle hand on her shoulder to let her know it was okay to feel the way she did.

"My apologies, Miss Magi," Eric Holly apologized. "Miss...O'Connor, how would you describe Kristina without the demon?"

Emily jumped in surprise, but after recovering she answered his question.

"Kristina's the nicest person I've ever met," Emily answered. "She wouldn't hurt a fly. She makes sure that her friends are happy, and she helps those she does not consider friends to either cheer them up or help tutor them in homework. Kristina cares deeply about people, and while she's accidentally slapped Desari, she never meant to do that in the first place. She's really smart and friendly. Honestly, I wish I was more like her sometimes. She's really cool."

"And you, Miss Campbell?" Eric asked.

"I would definitely agree with Emily," Jordan nodded. "Kristina doesn't like hurting people and she's really sweet. Definitely humorous. She likes to make people smile and laugh with funny jokes or bad puns."

"And Miss Whitney, how would you describe Kristina?" Eric asked.

"Kristina was violent towards me," Desari told him. "She hated me with a passion and wanted to get rid of me. I heard her talking to Erin about using the killing curse on me one time."

"Miss Hartnell, is this true?" Eric looked back at Erin.

"No sir," Erin shook her head. "Kristina was telling me she wished Desari would leave her alone. Not that she would want to kill her. I don't know where that idea even came from, to be honest."

"I don't like the idea of killing people," Kristina added.

"So do you believe you are not at fault for any of Miss Whitney's actions, Miss Magi?" Eric asked.

"No sir," Kristina told him with a hint of confidence. "She just wants me to suffer as she has, sir. She wishes I would suffer."

Even though Eric did not take any of her words into consideration last week, however, he seemed to think about what was said.

"I think we'll take a recess," he nodded. "And we shall confer with each other about what we shall do."

Everyone stayed in place, waiting for the verdict. Although Kristina did not mean to, she found herself staring at Morgan Crilli. Something felt wrong. The demon was there, she knew it, but there was an energy that scared her. Kristina peered into Crilli's mind to examine what was going on. In his mind, he was arguing with the demon.

" _No, not right now,_ " he told her.

" _I would love to cause pandemonium right now_ ," she told him. " _And exact my revenge on Magi for making me lose my favorite vessel. At least she didn't argue with me like you do!_ "

" _Yeah, but what if that Seraphim comes back?_ " Crilli asked her.  _"He's not going to be very happy!_ "

"Uncle Severus," Kristina started. "I think something's about to happen. I think Victoria is about to attack the courtroom."

"Metatron, where are you?" Professor Snape wondered.

"Oh shit," Kristina started and Snape grabbed Kristina and made her face his chest.

"Don't look! She's about to...do a violent thing..." Professor Snape exclaimed.

"Wait, WHAT?" Erin asked.

"HEY GUYS! THERE'S ABOUT TO BE AN ATTACK WITHIN THE MINISTRY!" cried out one of the Wizengamot members, pointing at Crilli.

Although Kristina, Erin, Oliver, Emily, and Jordan had all looked away, Professors Snape, Moses, and McGonagall were not and got to see the violent scene that Kristina was thankful she did not. All Kristina could hear was the loud fleshy 'squish' and the loud 'crack' of bones that came from the demoness emerging from Morgan Crilli's body. Professor Snape watched in disgust as the demon materialized and caused Morgan Crilli to 'explode'. He watched as flesh, blood, bones, guts, and brains splattered the nearby Wizengamot members and stained their perfectly plum robes and their hair. There was a collective gasp from the entire room, followed by screams of horror, then everybody from the Wizengamot fled the scene. However, Desari and the Hogwarts students did not leave. When a few of the girls dared to look up, they could see a bloodied Victoria Clyde cackling maniacally.

What was left of Morgan Crilli were bits and pieces of him. And a barely intact spine. Not even his legs survived the incident. So Kristina could look again, Professor Snape held up his wand and cast, "Evanesco" on the pieces of the man's body. Once it was all gone, he gently pushed Kristina off of him and looked at Victoria Clyde.

"Why would you do that?" Professor Snape asked.

"Oh, I was tired of his arguments," Victoria shrugged.

"Metatron, come on," Kristina whispered. "You have to come now."

"We need to stop her," Professor Snape told Kristina. "You think you can do that?"

"Yeah," Kristina nodded. "Desari, I want you out of here." She pointed her wand and reversed the body-binding spell she was under. "You go outside."

"Why? So you can take all the glory?" Desari asked.

"Because you can't defend yourself from this demon!" Kristina snapped. "You can't perform magic anymore, Desari. Now get outside and let us handle it."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Desari asked.

"I wish you would've thought about that when you told  _me_ what to do!" Kristina snapped.

"If you do not leave right this minute, Whitney..." Professor Snape began his threat.

"Professor McGonagall, you can escort her out," Professor Moses suggested quickly before everything blew up between Desari and Kristina.

"Yes, yes I can," Professor McGonagall agreed and walked over to Desari and forced her out.

Victoria tried to attack McGonagall and Desari, however, Professor McGonagall stopped her by casting " _Protego_ ". The attack was deflected and Victoria screamed in fury.

"I can't believe..." Erin watched.

"You are not getting away this time, Victoria!" Kristina exclaimed at the demoness.

"I don't plan to!" Victoria cackled. "Not until I finish every single one of you in this room." Without a second thought, she raced towards Kristina and Kristina stopped her by casting " _Stupify_ " silently.

"Good luck with that," Professor Snape sneered after Victoria fell back, stunned for a couple of seconds.

"I will win against you mortals!" Victoria yelled.

"Professor Moses, get my friends out of here," Kristina ordered Professor Moses. "I don't want them hurt."

"Kris, you can't do that," Erin protested.

"Erin," Kristina took her arms and looked her in the eye. "Professor Snape and I are going to protect you all. I don't want any of you getting hurt."

"It's not fair," Erin told her.

"Erin," Kristina's eyes watered. "I've already lost my parents. I can't lose my friends either. Please. It's my sacred duty to protect every single one of you."

"Kris..." Erin pouted.

"Please, Erin," Kristina pleaded. "Don't guilt me. You've already protected me enough. It's time I return the favor and protect you guys."

"Erin, I think Kristina's right," Professor Moses pointed out.

Victoria recovered from being stunned and raced towards the group of students. Kristina snapped back around, pointed her wand up, and cast, " _flippendo_ " silently. She managed to dodge this time and she reached into her weapons pouch and threw a couple of knives she found. Professor Snape cast them back at the demon with a swift and silent, 'depulso'. Victoria threw herself on the ground, where she was left unscathed. She stood back up and Professor Moses gathered the students and made them leave.

"You better make sure you live," Erin demanded Kristina before she left.

"I promise, Erin," Kristina promised.

" _Immobulus_ ," Professor Snape thought, pointing his wand at Victoria again.

The demoness dodged his spell and went after Kristina.

"How about we fight without an audience?" she asked, grabbing Kristina's arms and pulling them behind herself.

"No!" Professor Snape yelled.

"Let go of me!" Kristina exclaimed.

"No," Victoria told her. "I will take you, you're going to be a good little girl and you're gonna fight me. Alone. With no audience."

"Uncle Severus!" Kristina cried as Victoria snapped her fingers and changed her scene.

The scene now before Kristina was high above the city of London, on the tops of the freezing clouds. The air around her was colder than an ice cube. The sky around her was pitch black dotted with little dots of light—stars. She could make out each constellation, and even the Milky Way Galaxy could be seen. What was ground for them was the cloud tops. The dusty clouds were preparing a snow for later that evening, Kristina could feel it. She cast a warming charm on herself and glared at Victoria.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because, I would like to see you try on your own to defeat me, if you think you're so strong," Victoria sneered.

Kristina clenched her fists, "What if I defeat you?"

"If you defeat me, you can safely be returned to the Wizengamot without harm," Victoria told her. "And I will never come back. If you don't, then I take over your body again and you can never have control of your body again. Basically, you'd be dead."

In her mind, she weighed her options. After all she had gone through up until that point, it would be most disappointing for her to lose and die. Kristina realized how high the stakes were now, however, her options were few. All she knew at this point was that she had to do everything to defeat Victoria Clyde. Even without Professor Snape's help.

"Fine," Kristina agreed. "I suppose I've no other choice."

"That's the spirit," Victoria sneered.

Kristina pointed her wand but before she could cast a spell, Victoria vanished and reappeared behind Kristina.

"Boo!"

Kristina jumped and then spun around. She quickly cast, ' _Flippendo'_ on Victoria and caused her to fly backwards. Victoria landed hard on her back on the cloud and grunted. Angry, Kristina made sure to add a quick ' _stupify_ ' so she could not retaliate against Kristina yet. Victoria laid still for a few moments while Kristina tried to plan her next attack. Before she could, Victoria snapped out of her stun and raced towards Kristina. Quick thinking got Kristina to distract Victoria with the charm ' _bombarda_ '. Kristina watched the minor explosion put a hole through the cloud and then she dashed in the opposite direction to give herself some time to think.  _Okay, Magi, think! How do you defeat a demon without the help of a Seraphim? Dammit...I wish Metatron was here right now. He'd give me a lot of help._ Wait! Kristina waved her wand and first cast " _protego_ " on herself, then strengthening it with the spell ' _fianto duri_ '. Victoria Clyde was about to charge at Kristina again when she cast ' _impedimenta_ '. Victoria froze, bound up by magic.

Before Kristina could plan her next move, Victoria unfroze herself and rushed towards Kristina with a sword she produced out of thin air. That was when Kristina realized that she stood no chance against the demon. Out of unconscious fear, Kristina cried out, "Metatron! Please come!" She covered her face with her arms and braced herself for the attack. Suddenly, she heard the sharp, metallic 'clink' of swords hitting each other and when Kristina looked up, she caught sight of Metatron standing in front of her, holding his sword up and blocking Victoria's sword. Although she was strong, she was no match for Metatron's strength as he held her off. Kristina gasped in surprise.

"Metatron!" she exclaimed.

"Cast the body-bind curse on her," Metatron ordered Kristina.

Fumbling as she picked her wand back up from her lap, Kristina pointed it at Victoria and cast the spell silently. Victoria dropped her sword as her arms were bound by invisible cords. Her sword disappeared and Victoria was left unarmed.

"Gah!" Victoria cried out.

Metatron held out his hand and cast one of the angelic spells to enforce the body-bind curse as he stabbed the sword through her chest. When he pushed through her even more, she screamed at the top of her lungs in pure agony and then burst into flames. Quickly, the fire burned her to a crisp and then she completely disintegrated before their eyes. Satisfied, Metatron sheathed his sword once again. This time, he had truly defeated her. Kristina panted and trembled but was relieved that Metatron had come when he did.

"Metatron..." she panted. "What took you so long?"

"I needed this sword," he explained to her. "This specific sword keeps demons at bay. I thought it had already been out, and yet...it wasn't. Because  _some people_  think that mortals in danger of dying at the hands of a demon does not concern us angels!" He had yelled the last part up at the sky. "Bell-ends!"

He crouched in front of Kristina and examined her, "Are you okay, my dear?"

"Well, considering Victoria killed that man...in a rather gruesome manner, nonetheless, and then did this...I..." She sighed, "I'm fine. Not the worst I've dealt with."

"Well, I think you did rather well," Metatron assured her.

"You think so?" Kristina asked. "I felt like I was failing miserably at keeping Victoria from killing me. Every distraction I gave her, she stayed distracted for less time than I wanted."

"You stayed alive, didn't you?" Metatron asked. "Good God! Have some confidence in yourself, child! Every other human is like that. Don't have a lack in confidence."

"S-Sorry," Kristina apologized. "After everything..."

"I know, I know," Metatron glanced down. "You must be rather cold, here..." He shrugged his grey trench coat off and wrapped Kristina in it. She had no idea the warming charm had worn off and that she was back to freezing again in the top part of the troposphere. She pulled the sleeves over her arms and brought her hands together and breathed into them.

"Thank you, Metatron," Kristina thanked. "Now uhm...how the hell am I standing on a cloud?"

He smiled, "Magic, of course. Here, let me bring you back to the Ministry before Severus worries too much."

He took her hands and placed them on his shoulders.

"Hold on tight," he told her.

"Wait, you're gonna actually  _fly_?" Kristina asked.

"What do you think? Of course I'm going to actually fly!" he told her.

"But, the muggles?" Kristina asked.

"It's too dark for them to see us, and we're going to land in the park. Sheesh, you think I don't know what I'm doing?" he asked, then he sighed. "Now hold on to me!"

"R-Right," Kristina got a good grip around his neck and he flicked his hand to undo the magic keeping him on the top of the cloud and he began falling. It was very brief, and then he pulled out his wings and began using them. Kristina let out a surprised 'eek' and wrapped her legs around his torso, gripping tightly. Metatron laughed at her surprise and watched as she slowly relaxed, realizing she was safe with Metatron. She glanced down and saw the faint lights of London twinkling on the ground. Her thoughts swam around as she remembered nearly a similar scene before.

"Metatron," she started. "I remember something like this before...Did we do this before?"

Metatron dove down a bit too fast and made himself slow down, "Yes...you were very little..."

It was his response that triggered the memory in Kristina. She was five, and he had rescued her from the river. Instead of flying, they had been swimming together. When he got her out of the water, he snapped his fingers and they were both dry again. That was when he offered to fly her around to make her feel better. He looked  _exactly_ the same, except back then she had no idea who Metatron was. Now, she had a clue.

"I know I'm Pagan and all," Kristina started. "But...are you my guardian?"

"I guard those who are Pagan, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist..." Metatron smiled. "I guard whomever I want. Throughout your life, I've been your guardian. And I shall continue to be."

"Really?" Kristina asked.

"Of course," he assured her. "And remember, the Pagan gods also exist."

"I-I know, I just...I associate you with—"

"Catholicism and Judaism," Metatron nodded. "Yes, I know. God, Inari, Freyja, and Athena asked me to be your guardian, however. I'm sure they had a reason, and I wouldn't have chosen a better person to guard myself."

He swooped down towards the park grass, which was much closer now. Although it was still freezing cold outside, Kristina felt herself warming up a bit. When he landed, he landed straight on his feet.

"Alright," he told her. "I'll walk you from here."

As Kristina let go of Metatron, he hid his wings and took her hand.

"Let's hurry back," he told her.

Metatron led the way back to the Ministry of Magic, which was a couple of blocks away. As they rushed, Metatron's coat trailed behind Kristina and she did not trip on it, not once. The street lamps above her gave their orange glints to everything they rushed past. The very few people who were still out watched them with suspicion or confusion, but never spoke a word to either of them as they hurried. Metatron took a glance at Kristina as they rushed and Kristina blushed at him. She simply could not help it, he was rather handsome.

"Alright," Metatron got her to the entrance of the Ministry. "Let's go inside and see everyone, shall we?"

"Of course," Kristina smiled.


	17. Your Purity of Soul

**Chapter Seventeen:  
** _Your Purity of Soul_

When Metatron and Kristina walked into the Ministry, they were greeted by the group standing in the lobby of the Ministry. Everyone was concerned, however, Professor Snape looked deathly concerned. When Metatron brought Kristina in, he pulled her in front of him like in a tango and he smiled. As soon as he saw her, Professor Snape gasped and ran up to her and held her tight. Kristina gasped in surprise and then coughed.

"Oh my gods," he breathed. "You're back!"

"Yeah..." Kristina nodded. "We defeated Victoria."

"This time?" Professor Snape asked. "Are you sure?"

"Well, if my holy sword didn't make Victoria Clyde explode into flames and disintegrate, then I don't know what to tell you," Metatron retorted. "However, it was mostly Kristina's handy work. She landed a few hits on Victoria and used the full body bind spell on Victoria. I finished her off with the holy sword and...well...she should not be able to ever return to this plane of existence. She is now aether. It will be used for better things, I hope. Really fascinating how that all works, you know. I'd study it some time if I were you, Kristina."

"Certainly," Kristina nodded.

"So Victoria Clyde no longer will plague us?" Professor Snape asked.

"No, she's going to come back! Yes, she's not going to plague you lot anymore!" Metatron snapped.

"Well, that's good to know," Professor Snape muttered.

"So, what's the verdict on Desari?" Kristina asked the Wizengamot, raising an eyebrow.

Many of them were still shaking from trauma, but Eric Holly stepped up in front of the group and placed shaky hands behind him to anxiously give his answer. There was a long, tense, pause. Kristina could see Desari's breath catch as Eric prepared his words. Kristina already could tell what he was about to say, and it made her feel guilty for the verdict. After thinking about it a few minutes, she opened her mouth just as Eric was about to and stopped him dead in his tracks.

"If...If I could add something first," she started. Everyone looked at her in surprise. All eyes were on her now, making her shift in her boots uncomfortably. After she calmed herself down, she continued with, "I know I hate my cousin Desari Whitney, but I don't think it's fair to allow her to continue to suffer as she had in the past. As much as the vengeful part of me wishes for her to stay in Azkaban, I'd like to ask for a pardon for her so she can go back to the States and go back to Ilvermorny to learn magic again so she can do something productive and helpful in the Wizarding community there in America."

Metatron beamed with pride at her sudden comments and Desari looked at her in shock.

"On the condition that she goes back to the States rather than staying here," Kristina added. "I don't want to chance running into her again. Just too painful a memory to bear on my shoulders, not after what I've had happen the past few months."

"That's...very kind of you," Eric Holly commented. "Uhm...well...I suppose after what happened today, I could allow a pardon."

"I believe that deserves 50 points to Ravenclaw," Professor McGonagall had pride etched on her face.

"I'll give another 50 for taking care of the demon," Professor Moses added. "That takes some serious bravery I wouldn't have had myself!"

Professor McGonagall glanced at Meriwether.

"What?" he asked. "I'm terrified of demons. I'm brave in every other aspect, though...just not demons...and dementors are pretty scary too."

Professor McGonagall shook her head at Meriwether and scoffed at her colleague.

"Thank you, Professors," Kristina thanked them, smiling at Professor Moses's silliness.

"Thank you, Kris," Desari stumbled over her words. She rushed over to hug her but Kristina jumped back and held out a hand to stop her.

"No hugs," Kristina told her. "I don't forgive you, I'm just being nice. Because that's what my father would want and I feel as if it is only fair..."

"Er, right..." Desari put her hands behind her back.

"We'll arrange for her to be transported back to the States later on in the week," Eric Holly assured.

"Thank you," Kristina thanked.

"And we'll have Relius Coriander drive you all home," Eric suggested. "Er, unless you are all from different areas of the country."

"No I think a few of us are from Norfolk," Erin pointed out.

"I'd like to take Kristina back to Cokeworth," Professor Snape suggested.

"That's a rather far drive," Eric told him.

"I think Kristina can handle it," Professor Snape assured.

"I suppose," Eric nodded. "Alright, I suppose. Relius, take them back to the limo. Make sure they eat, while you're at it."

"I don't think any of us are really hungry," Professor McGonagall told him. "Not after tonight's events."

"Yeah, Minerva has a point," Professor Moses agreed. "I'm still fairly nauseous...and grossed out...I don't think I can eat."

"Yeah, neither can I," Oliver sighed.

"Ditto," responded most everybody else in Kristina's group.

"Well, I suppose that takes care of that..." Eric muttered. "Alright, Relius take them home."

"I would be honored to take them all home," Relius placed a hand over his chest as he bowed.

After standing back up straight, Relius gestured for the lot to follow him back to the Ministry's limo and he turned around. Glancing at one another, they all followed him out. Kristina took ahold of Professor Snape's hand and they walked together with Metatron trailing beside Kristina. Erin sped up to catch up with Kristina, Snape, and Metatron and looked at Kristina.

"So...what made you decide to let Desari go?" Erin asked.

"I felt bad for her," Kristina admitted. "I realized that just because she did something wrong, doesn't mean I should hold it against her for the rest of our lives...honestly, I realized that she went through hell just as I have the past few months, and...I don't know, I guess I figured she didn't deserve to suffer any longer."

"That was unexpected," Erin admitted.

"Yeah, well the past few months were unexpected," Kristina reminded.

"Touché," Erin grinned.

Kristina smiled back, "I suppose I really do have a heart, ya know?"

"At least one of us has one..." Professor Snape sighed.

"Alrighty, well...this is where I go back," Metatron told them as they approached the limo. "Kristina, good work. You'd be a great Seraphim if you weren't a mortal. Instead, you are a great witch with great potential. Think we need more wizards and witches like you."

"Aw, thank you," Kristina blushed.

"Hug?" Metatron grinned.

Kristina let go of Professor Snape's hand and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his chest.

"Thank you so much, Metatron," she thanked him. "You're proper awesome!"

Metatron smiled at her, "Of course."

After letting go, Metatron bowed and disappeared without a trace. With that, everyone were invited to sit in the limo. Instead of squishing everybody into one compartment, they were allowed to spread out in a few compartments. Kristina and Snape took the first one behind the driver and Erin chose to sat with them as well. Professor Snape once again sat by the window and Kristina sat beside him, resting her head on his chest. Erin sat on the other side of Kris and sighed.

"Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way," Erin muttered as the vehicle began moving. "Now we can focus on our O.W.L.s, right Kris?"

"Yeah," Kris nodded.

"What do you think you want to do after Hogwarts?" Erin asked.

Kristina swallowed hard.

"I want to be an Auror," she responded, gaining her a surprised look from Professor Snape. "Well, after this whole incident with that dark wizard, I want to gain revenge for my parents. The best revenge is to make sure something like that never happens again. I'll put away dark wizards and they will never get a chance to harm another child's parents again."

Professor Snape and Erin were left speechless. Then, both of them nodded in agreement with her.

"I will fight tooth and nail for that to happen, Kristina," Professor Snape agreed.

"And I will join you in that adventure," Erin grinned. "I'll be an Auror with you."

Professor Snape anxiously remembered when he was a Death Eater, however, he chose not to tell Kristina anything about it. Somethings were best left unsaid to one's loved ones.

"You'll make an excellent Auror, Kristina," he told her instead. "And I will ensure you will become one."

"Thank you," Kristina thanked. "I appreciate it."

"Of course," Professor Snape told her.

X X X

It was a few hours after midnight when the driver had arrived on Spinner's End, Cokeworth. He'd dropped off everybody else, except Kristina and Snape. Professor Snape was struggling to keep awake, and Kristina had already fallen asleep. She was curled up against him, soundly asleep for the first time in two months. He dared not to wake her up when he woke back up from a quick snooze. When he awoke again, Relius had pulled right into the old driveway of his childhood home and parked the vehicle.

"Alright, I hope I have the right house," Relius looked behind him at Professor Snape and Kristina.

"Yes," Professor Snape nodded.

"Alright. Would you like help getting everything into the house?" Relius asked.

"I'd most appreciate it," Professor Snape responded, opening the door and setting a foot out of the vehicle.

It'd been years, and yet the house looked as though it had been left alone for a few days. He mused to himself,  _Mother must have put a spell on it. She knew I was not about to return anytime soon._  Yet, he finally did return to the house. This time, with his cousin. Before stepping all the way out of the vehicle, Professor Snape pulled Kristina into his lap and scooped her up in his arms. Much to his surprise, she did not wake up. Relieved, he put his other foot out and he stood up. He stretched his legs as he stood up and turned to close the door with his hip. Relius stepped out of the vehicle and closed his door, looking at Professor Snape.

"I see, she's asleep," he commented.

"I did not dare wake her," Professor Snape muttered.

"Probably a good thing, too," Relius agreed.

"Indeed," Professor Snape nodded. "Our stuff?"

"Of course, Professor," Relius nodded and walked past Snape to open the back part of the limo up.

Professor pointed a wand at the front door and cast, " _alohomora_ " and heard it unlock. Then, Professor Snape turned around and saw Relius pulling out the cages and Kristina's suitcase for the two weeks she'd be away from Hogwarts. Professor Snape cast ' _wingardium leviosa_ ' on the suitcase and Ivory's cage and gestured at Relius to follow him. At first, he was shocked. Then, he shook his head. Professor Snape was an excellent wizard, of course he could do that. After stumbling with the cages for both cats (both of them weighing in at about 13 pounds each, plus an extra two for their cages), he followed Professor Snape into his house and set down the cages.

"Thank you," Snape thanked. "I believe that is all I needed help with."

"Oh? Are you certain?" Relius asked.

Professor Snape nodded, "I can take care of everything from here. Thank you."

"Goodnight, then," Relius inclined his head.

"Goodnight, sir," Professor Snape grunted.

Relius left and closed the door behind him. Professor Snape waved his wand and released both cats so they could finally move freely in a much larger space. Snarf stayed inside of his cage, however, Kismet emerged with curiosity. As she began sniffing around and rubbing her scent on everything, Professor Snape turned and took Kristina to his old room. When he entered the room, he was surprised it still had anything. A bed, neatly made with a green and silver comforter and dark grey pillows. Some of his old books from his first few years at Hogwarts remained in a neat pile on his desk. Even a few old notes, and few quills lying about. Professor Snape mused about his old life there, and then reminded himself things are better now. His deadbeat father is not there, and he had Kristina instead. A loving, caring, generous, smart young witch who never gave him hell. She never screamed in anger, she wasn't going to beat on him, she was not going to throw empty alcohol bottles above his head.

After snapping out of his musings, he pulled the covers back with a flick of his wand and then he laid Kristina down on the bed. Stashing his wand back in his jacket, he pulled up the covers to her neck and watched as she tossed over onto her side. Professor Snape placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. It was not as though he was not expecting that to happen. In fact, he had been expecting it.

Following in behind him, he felt something brush up against his pant leg and realized that Kismet had followed him and now was deciding to join her human for bed time. Kismet looked up at Snape, then at the bed, and then jumped up with a trill. She climbed over Kristina's waist and plodded up to her face and began kneading the bed. Professor Snape sighed as he pulled off his jacket.

"Goodnight, Kristina," he told her.  _Just remember I'm your family now...don't ever be afraid to call me family._ He mused to himself,  _Well, when I think about it she's the only family I have left. I wonder what lady fate has in store for the two of us?_  Professor Snape could not help but believe that there was a specific reason as to why this has all happened. Whatever it was eluded him, and perhaps that was for the best.

When he left her room, he remembered that Kristina's things were still out. After casting ' _accio_ ', he brought the suitcase into her room and waved a wand to open it up. Luckily, Kristina kept her clothing organized into piles of which outfits to wear with what socks and underwear. With a simple wave of the wand, he brought out the first set of clothing and set it on the desk. For a couple of moments, he thought about how Kristina needed a glass of water and contemplated if he would use magic for that. No, he decided. Not without his supervision. Besides, the glasses probably all have dust on them. He figured he'd give it a swift clean with some magic.

When he got to the kitchen, he waved his wand and pulled out a glass. He brought over for him to inspect. Yes, it had at least five years' worth of dust on it. He used is wand to send it to the sink where he cast the cleaning charm on it and watched as it got cleaned. When it was done, he poured water into it and took it up to Kristina's room rather than sending it there with a charm. When he came back, he saw that Ivory had joined Kristina and Kismet and was curled up against the wall, nesting against Kristina's arm. Professor Snape set the glass down and nodded at the owl, now glancing up at him. There was a quiet 'hoot' as she acknowledged him, then she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. That was when Professor Snape left the room and quietly closed the door behind him.

X X X

After Kristina was given enough time to recover, about two days, she, Erin, Professor Snape, and Madam Hartnell all worked together to move what they could and what Kristina was willing to hold onto over to Professor Snape's house. As Kristina swept through the house, examining and scrutinizing each item, she stumbled upon a box with a couple of other boxes inside. Those boxes were wrapped up already—bows and everything. These must've been her Solstice presents. Her heart sunk as she reached to tear open the first one. As she opened it up, she discovered inside books on Runes and Astronomy her mother, she figured, must have gotten her. These were not required textbooks for any of her classes, but they were some reading she'd been wanting to do. She set those aside and then took out the next box. It was fairly small, however, when she opened it she discovered a locket with an owl design on it. That explained why the box was so small. It was from her dad, she saw, because when she opened the locket up she found a picture of them together, and Kristina was about the age of three in the photo as well. They were happy, and smiling. She could see her father's image getting ready to throw her up into the air, and he did. In the photo, anyway. In the background, she could spot her mother beaming with pride at them. And Professor Snape was in the photo too, amazed that his cousin could catch so well.

Kristina could feel her emotions rising. Perhaps this was too much for her, perhaps they should have waited until the wounds were not as fresh. Yet, they did not. Was it meant that Kristina was moving her things to her cousin's house now rather than later? Kristina did not know, and she did not care at that time. Clutching the chain and pendant, she felt the tears forming and then the sob being let out. After a few moments, her sobbing became more consistent and constant. She was crying, and she could be heard from all the way upstairs.

Professor Snape, Erin, and Madam Hartnell all glanced up as the sound became louder, which lead to them looking at each other. Was that Kristina? Professor Snape was the first to stand up, followed by Erin and Madam Hartnell as they all cautiously approached the stairs. The sounds became clearer: Kristina was crying. About what? That was what they all intended to find out when they got upstairs. As they approached where Kristina was—her parents' room—they discovered Kristina sitting on the floor, her hands covering her face, hunched over, and her body shuddering as she tried to breathe and cry at the same time. Professor Snape caught a glimpse of something draped over her hand on a faux-silver chain. He crouched down beside her and took the pendant to see what it was. A locket, he noted. With a photo inside of her parents and her. Now he understood why she was crying.

Gently, he draped his left arm over her shoulders and waited for her to calm down. Erin did not understand what was going on, other than her best friend needed to be comforted. She decided to sit down on the other side of her and drape her arm over Snape's on her shoulder. Madam Hartnell followed and sat down behind Kristina and began rubbing her back. The three of them sat in a mourning silence while Kristina cried. Life was simply too cruel for words, and they all had to accept that.


End file.
